Hitching a Ride
by jcd117
Summary: Sarah has been hunting on her own for years. It was supposed to be another job in Toledo when she meets the Winchester boys. She wasn't looking to join anyone, but there was something about Sam and Dean that made her want to be with them. Season 1 of Supernatural Dean/OC
1. Introduction

Introduction

The definition of a hunter is a person who searches for or seeks something. When a person hears this word, they assume a hunter finds and kills animals. This is not always the case. There are people out there who protect the human race from things other than the known. These hunters find the things that can't be explained and does what needs to be done about the problem.

These people generally live normal lives during the day. Many have families and even jobs. But when the sun goes down, they leave all of that behind. These brave souls do not fear the night. The night fears them.

The children of these hunters are raised fairly differently. They receive weapons training, learn how to make fake I.D.s and credit cards, and learn how to kill. Their vacations from school were not spent relaxing near an ocean or playing games at home. Instead, they traveled across the country alongside their parents.

Sarah Greenely was one of these children. Her sister and herself were raised to be like their parents. Many hunter children felt forced and hated what they did, but not Sarah. It was dream job and she never thought of doing anything else. Her mind was made when she started training at about age six. She knew she wanted to do this for the rest of her life.

Her sister was the same. A little older than Sarah, Maria started on her own early. When she was home, the two planned their future. They dreamed of living on the road and saving people together. The hunt was all they knew and they didn't care as long as they were together. They never wanted to stop hunting and their parents were proud.

It didn't turn out that way, however. Sarah travels the highways of the United States in buses and taxi cabs alone. Her parents have stopped hunting and beg Sarah to do the same. She refuses to listen. Being a hunter was all she knew and she wasn't ready to give it up. She wasn't going to let what happened change her entire life. She just couldn't.

She knows it's dangerous to be alone in this business, but she prefers it now. The less people the better. At twenty-four, the prime of her life, she loves the danger and strongly believes that she can do things herself. She keeps contact with her parents down to a minimum, mostly to inform them that she is still breathing. This way, she is truly on her own.

Her life has been close to ending a few times throughout the years, but that was normal. You cannot be considered a hunter until you have a few close encounters with death. At least, that's what she keeps telling herself.

Her journey had brought her to Toledo, Ohio. She was on her way to somewhere in the middle of Pennsylvania, only passing through, when she caught wind of a supernatural occurrence. It sounded like her kind of thing. She couldn't leave knowing that she could have helped. She didn't know it yet, but this decision to stay would be the most important decision she would ever make.


	2. Chapter 1: Basket Case

Chapter 1

Basket Case

(Season 1, episode 5 - _Bloody Mary_)

The local newspaper with the obituary of Steven Shoemaker was shoved into Sarah's black leather bag, which also held her silver knife, a bottle of holy water, a tupperware container filled with salt, and her father's old pistol, as she made her way into the coroner's office. The newspaper had stated that this man had suddenly died bloody in his home. His daughter found him lying on the bathroom floor. Something seemed wrong about the whole thing.

Sarah walked in the office wearing her black low, closed toe heels along with her light blue button down blouse and black dress pants. She held her bag over her shoulder and over her black blazer. Her light brown hair was placed firmly into a bun and her nails were painted naturally, matching her make up. These were only clothes she wore to appear like an FBI agent and to get her involved in the investigations.

She flashed her fake FBI badge only long enough for them to see the name of her aliases which, in this case, was Agent Armstrong, and the full color photograph of her inside. She didn't chance them seeing it and noticing that it wasn't real.

The doctor was not available by the time she entered the morgue, but the assistant on duty allowed her to look around. The place was nothing she hadn't seen before. Dead bodies covered by blankets, medical instruments laying out on tables, and dark areas that were hardly lit. These places always freaked her out, but she got herself by it every single time. It was, in fact, part of the job.

"Excuse me, Miss, uh, I mean Agent," the assistant that was watching the morgue for the coroner called. "There are a couple med students here that wanted to see the Shoemaker body as well. If you want you can join them."

Students? Why would they be interested in that specific body? Chances were, they weren't students at all. They were probably other hunters who got a whiff of the case and came running in first chance they got. This wasn't the first time she had to deal with other hunters, but she definitely hated doing it. Working with other people is what got you killed. These ones didn't sound too bright either.

"This is a federal investigation, now. I don't have time to deal with these students. Tell them to come back later, after I've seen the body for myself." She was in no mood to work around other people. She thought _They used a stupid student aliases. They must be new._ Because of this, she decided to use the fake power that her fake badge gave her.

"I'm sorry, but they're students of the doctor, so you would have to deal with them anyway."

_I can't believe this._ She walked past the assistant with her badge in hand. "Fine. Let's just get this over with, then, shall we?"

Sarah managed to make her way into the part of the morgue that held Steven Shoemaker's corpse. That is where she was presented with two young men, about her age. One was tall with longer hair than other that flared our slightly. He wore a brown hoodie and jeans with black and white sneakers. The other was about her height, maybe slightly taller and he wore a leather jacket with a blue button down underneath. _Great. I'm dealing with a college student and his drop out friend,_ was the first thing that came to her mind.

"Gentlemen," her voice called to them. They both turned their attention onto her. "This is an FBI case. While we examine the body, I suggest you stay out of my way, or hell will rain down on you. You got it?"

The tall one nodded quickly. "Yeah. Yeah, we got it."

The rebel looking one said nothing. He just stared at Sarah, unconvinced about her and who she said she was.

She turned to the doctor as he led her and the boys to the spot where Shoemaker was being examined.

The tall one came up to her first with his hand held out. "I'm Sam, by the way."

Sarah reluctantly grabbed his hand and shook it. "Agent Armstrong." She wasn't willing to give up her first name just yet. There was no trusting these boys, not yet.

Sam released her hand and pointed. "That's my brother Dean. He's not one for introductions."

"Yes, I can see that." She didn't want to waste her time chit chatting. All Sarah wanted to do was see the body and leave. That way, she would be able to finish her job in peace.

The doctor' assistant put on gloves and handed Sarah a pair. Since this Sam and Dean were only pretending to be med students, they weren't able to touch the body.

Sam was the first to speak to the doctor, beating Sarah to the punch. "Now, the newspaper said his daughter found him. She said he eyes were bleeding."

"More than that." The doctor lifted the white sheet that covered the dead man. "They practically liquefied." The man's eye lids were gone, and his eyes remained open. Blood dripped down the sides of his face and into his hair. Whatever this was, it didn't appreciate sight very much.

"Any sign of struggle?" Dean asked. "Maybe somebody did it to him?"

"Nope. Besides the daughter, he was all alone."

"What was the time of death?" Sarah asked. These boys were taking all of her normal questions. She needed something, so she improvised. She had seen this question ask countless times on cop shows. Asking this wouldn't raise any suspicion she hoped.

"Between 12 and 1 am. Did you read the report that was sent in?"

This wasn't uncommon. She was always asked about a report and her answer was always the same. "I didn't receive a full report yet. Did the doctor file one?"

"Yes, I believe he did."

"Believing is the same as guessing. Did he or didn't he?" She knew she sounded harsh, but she needed to keep him scared.

"I, uh, don't know."

"Well then don't ask a federal agent if one was read if you don't even know if one was filed."

"Hey, take it easy." Dean reached out in front of him and to her. "He's just doing his job."

"And I'm just doing mine. Now I suggest you shut up or I'll have you arrested for interfering with a federal investigation. Is that what you want?" Without hearing an answer, she knew she had won. "That's what I thought."

Sam could see the discomfort in the doctor's eyes and wanted to finish this up quickly. "What was the official cause of death?"

"Docs not sure. He's thinking massive stroke or maybe an aneurysm. Something burst up in there, that's for sure."

"What do you mean?"

"Intense cerebral bleeding." The doctor smiled like it was funny or cool. "This guy had more blood in his skull than anybody I've ever seen."

"Look at the eyes." Sam's words directed everyone in the room to stare at the empty sockets before them. "What would cause something like that?"

"Capillaries can burst. I see a lot of blood shot eyes of stroke victims."

"Yeah. Have you ever seen exploding eyeballs?" Dean, Sarah could tell, was the troublemaker. Sam's questions were educated and thought out. Dean didn't seem like the school type.

"That's a first for me. But, hey, I'm not the doctor."

"You think we could take a look at the police report? You know for our paper." Dean smiled at the doctor, trying to persuade him to say 'yes.'

"I'm sorry. If anyone should be looking at that report, it will be me." Sarah stepped in front of the both of them. "I'm sorry, boys, but I think I'll take it from here if you don't mind." She looked at the doctor. "Now, the report please."

"I'm not really supposed to show anybody that," the doctor confessed.

"Well, I'm working this case and I really need to see that report, you know, since I didn't receive one. Unless you want me to contact your superiors, I suggest-" but she stopped mid-sentence as Sam pulled out his wallet. "What are you doing?"

Neither Sam nor Dean answered her as Sam pulled out a couple twenties and handed them to the assistant.

"Come this way," the assistant instructed.

Dean smiled in victory at Sarah as they followed the man to the room that held all of the official reports. He handed Sam all of the papers and it was time to go. She needed to get those papers before they figured out she wasn't really a FBI agent.

As the three of them walked down the stairs, Sam opened the report. Sarah quickly grabbed it away from him. She knew her only chance at getting the report was acting nice. She always did what she had to do to close a case. "Listen, I appreciate your interest in this case and helping getting this report, but I need to take it and look it over by myself."

Dean snatched the papers back away from Sarah. "Why don't we talk outside." He nudged his head to the exit.

Sam and Sarah both followed. If Dean didn't have the papers then Sarah would have been long gone by now. But she needed to read the report in full detail if she wanted to close this case and that meant following Dean outside to the parking lot. She pulled her bag tightly to her side, readying it in case she needed to grab anything in defense.

Once outside, Dean led her and his brother to an ally directly next to the hospital. He pulled out a small knife and turned to Sarah. Without a chance of escaping, Sarah was thrust against the wall of the hospital with Dean's arm holding her there. He knocked her purse off of her shoulder and held the knife to her face. "Who are you?" he demanded to know.

Her lying has gotten her this far. Sarah wasn't going to start telling the truth now. "I'm FBI and you boys are in some serious trouble."

Sam stood next to his brother. "FBI don't come around for small town cases like this. Try again."

"Sam, do you have that bottle of holy water with you?" Dean asked his brother.

"Yeah, I do." Sam pulled out a small silver bottle from the inside of his jacket.

"I'm not a demon!" Sarah yelled at them.

"We have to make sure. Sam."

Sam opened the bottle and threw the contents on Sarah's face. When there was no reaction, Dean spoke again. "You got the silver knife?"

Sam nodded at him and Dean forced her sleeve up.

"I'm not anything else, either," Sarah complained.

Dean refused to listen. He dug the knife into her arm and watched as the blood drew. It only stung her slightly, but she needed not to react. That was the only way they would believe her.

With, again, no reaction, Dean released his grip on her and backed away.

"See. I told you. I'm not a demon or anything else." She rubbed under her eyes and removed any eyeliner and mascara that ran down her face. "Every time this happens. Every time."

She reached down to her bag, but Dean stopped her. "What do you got in there?"

Sarah shoved his arm away. "Relax. I'm just getting a rag to stop the bleeding. You got me pretty deep." She had thought about grabbing her gun and holding them to give her the documents, but that would have drawn a scene. Instead, she did what she said she was going to. Sarah grabbed an old white rag and wrapped it around her fresh wound.

"Now tell us, who are you?" Dean still had the knife in his hand. He brought it up to her face, threatening her once again.

Seeing no other way around this, Sarah had no choice than to tell the truth. "Fine. My name's Sarah Greenely. I'm a hunter. And judging by your knowledge of holy water, fake aliases, and ability to use a silver knife, I would guess you guys are, too."

"Why did you lie?" Sam's eyes released a sad tone.

"What? You think I was going to tell a couple of really bad actors who I really was? I don't think so, Tex. How dumb do you think I am? I've been doing this job for a long time. Rule number one: you don't tell anyone who you really are unless you know you can trust them. And judging how you nearly slit my throat just now, I'm pretty sure I can't trust you. Are you happy now?"

"Not yet." Dean's grip on his knife lessened and he lowered his weapon. "Why are you here?"

"Wow, you're not the brightest of the bunch are you?" Sarah reached for the top of her head and let down her hair. It fell straight down to the middle of her back as she spoke. "I'm here for the case of the missing eyeballs, same as you." She slid the hair tie on her right wrist and looked up at them.

"And you were using a fake FBI badge as your cover?" Sam seemed fascinated with her alias.

"Yeah. It gets me the answers I need quicker. Pretending to be a med student, for example, would take too long. Time is precious. Someone else could die." She liked Sam. He didn't seem like the kill-first-ask-questions-later type like his brother. Sam was at least reasonable. "Can I have the reports now?"

Dean put his knife back in his pocket and pulled out reports. "No. We got this. Why don't you just go one home to your mom and dad and we'll take it from here."

She grabbed his arm before he could walk away. "I don't think so. I was here before you."

"So what? We're here, now. We got this."

"Guys, we don't even know if it's our kind of thing yet," Sam interjected. "Let's just look at the file first and we'll take it from there."

Dean and Sarah's eyes were fixed on each other. Neither one of them wanted the other around. They had only just met and she knew that this guy was going to be a problem.

Without receiving any answer, Sam slowly took the report from Dean's hands and glanced at it. "It might not even be one of ours. It might just be a freak medical thing."

Dean dropped a look at Sam in disbelief. "How many times in Dad's long career has it actually been a freak medical thing? And not some sign of an awful supernatural death?"

_Dad? They must have been brought up in this life like I was. Maybe they weren't totally defenseless after all._ Sarah understood them a little better. At least, she could relate to them.

"Almost never," Sam answered back.

"Exactly."

"All right. Let's go talk to the daughter."

Dean started to walk away without acknowledging one tiny detail.

"Hey!" Sarah shouted. "I can handle this without you. Leave."

_That's it!_ Dean thought. "Listen. We don't need you here. We can do this without a winy little brat screaming at us every second. Now, I suggest you take your fake I.D., girly purse, and nice clothes, and go crawl back home. I don't have time for this. Let the professionals handle this."

"Professionals? I'm sorry. I'm pretty sure I've doing this longer than you. Unlike you, I actually know what I'm doing. You're the one getting in my way!" She knew what she said was incorrect, but it was the best she could come up with in her fuming state.

"Oh please. A girl like you can't take a job like this."

"Is that what this is about? You don't think women are capable of being hunters. Well, I have to tell you-"

"Guys! Hey!" All of the shouting was drawing attention to the threesome. Sam knew that was breaking one of the first rules of hunting. "Why don't we just work together?"

"NO!" Dean and Sarah shouted at the same time. Neither of them had noticed before, but as they screamed at each other, they migrated toward one another. They're chests were nearly touching. They were silent for a moment, but only for a moment. They both seemed to have forgotten that they were fighting.

Sarah backed away a few feet. She knew getting close was not an option. Keeping people close meant getting hurt and she didn't want that happening again. Not ever. "I'm sorry, Sam. You, I would mind working with. At least you seem smart and can keep a level head. But you're brother. Well you're brother is just an ass."

"Well, you're no basket full of puppies yourself. In fact, you're a total bitch."

"Dean. Come one. We could use her. She seems to know what she's doing in terms of lying and getting into places." Sam then turned to Sarah. "And it looks like you could use the muscle, at least just for this. Once this is done and solved, then we can part ways and never look back. Deal?"

Sarah shifted, contemplating her options. "If, IF, I work with you, does that give me access to the reports? In full?"

"Yes."

"Oh, come on, Sam. You can't actually be thinking letting her come along is a good idea." Dean could see that something about this girl was off. Hunters usually don't travel by themselves. They might do a case or two alone, but not always. They usually had a contact near by in case things got hairy. She was different and he didn't trust her for a second.

She huffed seeing no other choice. "Fine. But if either of you cross me, you'll regret it." She walked ahead of them, wasting no time.

"You want to meet us at the house in your car?" Sam asked.

"Nope. Might as well just go with you now."

He ran to catch up to her, leaving Dean in the ally. "What about your car?"

"Don't have one."

"Why not?"

_Questions, questions, questions. What's with all of the questions?_ "Listen, I'm not here to tell you about my feelings and my whole life story. Just give me a ride and make both of our lives easier."

"Yeah. Right."

Sarah knew Sam's type. He was the type to work things out logically, not physically. He was a lover not a fighter, mostly. She could tell that Sam was also the get married and have a bunch of rugrats type, a type she turned away from for that reason. Sam wanted to build up healthy, happy relationships, have friends and a family. In this business, being alone is the best option. This wasn't a job for Sam.

"So, which beat up, hunk of crap is yours?"

"How do you know it's a hunk of crap?" Sam found joy in her question and grinned when he thought what she was in for.

"Because it's a hunter's car. I guess you didn't notice, but we don't get payed very much. A nice car is a luxury people like us never get to enjoy."

Dean sped past her. "Wanna bet?" He walk right up to a black classic car in nearly pristine condition. It shinned in Sarah's eyes as Dean opened the driver's side door.

"A Chevy?"

Dean stood between open door and the car. "Yeah. You know anything about cars?"

"No. It says it on the front." Sarah looked to Sam as he laughed silently at Dean. "I assume you're taking shotgun?"

"Yeah. At least, that's where I normally sit."

"Thought so. I'll take the back." She slid past Dean and opened the back door behind the driver. Sam and Dean only stared at her. "What are you two waiting for? Times a ticking." She bent down and entered the car.

Sam looked at Dean, still laughing. "What's so funny?" Dean snapped.

"Nothing." Sam gleefully walked over to his side and climbed in.

Dean was the last to get into the car. He knew that he had beaten the random mysterious hunter in the back and couldn't help but feel the need to rub it in. "All hunters have crappy cars, huh?" He said as he started the engine.

She hated to admit that she was wrong. One feature Sarah could never get over. "It's not the worst I've seen."

"Come one, admit it. You and your stupid stereotype was wrong." He turned over in his seat to stare at her face. He so desperately wanted to see her thin pink lips say she liked the car.

"Fine. It's a nice car. What do you want? A medal?"

"No. That's victory enough." Dean turned back to the wheel and started to tenderly stroke the freshly cleaned dashboard. "We win again, Baby."

_Baby?_ Sarah asked herself. "He can't be serious."

Sam tilted his head to answer her. "Oh, yes. He is."

"Oh my God. I've hopped a ride with a lunatic."

"Hey!" Dean yelled, insulted. "If this is going to work, you need to leave the car out of your little insults. You got it?"

Sarah chuckled halfheartedly. "Yeah, whatever you say, man."

"Good." Dean turned up the radio as ACDC came blaring through the speakers.

"Really?" _Who does this guy think he is?_

"Yup." Dean turned the music up even higher to try and drown out the sound of her voice.

But that didn't stop her. "This is the music my dad listens to."

Dean heard her remark about his music but pretended he didn't. He put his pointer and middle finger up to his ear. "I'm sorry. I can't hear you. The musics too loud."

Sarah slumped in her seat, knowing what he was doing. "Moron," she slipped under her breath.

From there, Sarah, Sam, and Dean sat silently as they drove to the house of the victim to talk to his daughter.

* * *

**A/N- Okay. I know I uploaded the introduction a long time ago, but never got around to actually writing any chapters, but that's about to change. Here is the first official chapter of Hitching a Ride. Please review and let me know what you think. I would love to hear your feed back on Sarah and her first encounter with Sam and Dean. I would also love to hear whatever ideas you all had in terms of where this story should go. I have a pretty good idea about main points, but maybe you guys could help fill in the blanks. I promise to upload more as long as it does well. Love you all and thank you for reading this story. See you in the next chapter. :)**

**The name of every chapter is going to be a name of a song that I feel relates to the chapter in some way. This chapter's song is Basket Case by Green Day. The story was also named after another Green Day song Hitching a Ride.**


	3. Chapter 2: Matter Of Trust

Chapter 2

Matter Of Trust

(Season 1, episode 5 - _Bloody Mary)_

Dean pulled up to the house slowly and lowered his music. There was no parking in sight. "I'll pull around to the next street and park there."

After parking, the three of them quickly made their way to Shoemaker's home. It was packed with people dressed in black attire. Flowers were scattered on the front porch and inside of the house. Photos of the victim rested on tables near the entrance.

Sarah grabbed Dean's arm before he went any further into the home. "Oh my, God. We just walked into the guy's memorial service."

"So?" Dean shot her a look of confusion.

"Look at yourselves." Sam and Dean were not dressed for the occasion. Sarah was lucky to have come straight over wearing her nice clothing. This outfit doubled as good funeral attire.

"We're a bit under dressed," Sam confessed.

"A bit? You two look like hobos compared to everyone else. You stand out."

"Don't worry, Sweetheart. We'll go in, talk to the daughter, and get out before anyone starts asking questions." Dean brushed her hand away from his arm and started to walk to the back to find the daughter.

Sarah sped up her pace to walk next to Dean. "Don't call me 'Sweetheart.' It's degrading."

"Whatever. Let's just get this over with."

After only a minute or two of searching, they found the teenage looking girl sitting on the outdoor furniture with a few of her friends. They were comforting her while she mourned the loss of her father.

"You must be Donna, right?" Dean asked the girl softly.

"Hi, uh, we're really sorry," Sam awkwardly told her. She thanked him for his kind attempt. He then introduced the trio. "I'm Sam. This is Dean and, uh, Sarah." Sam felt slightly terrible for momentarily forgetting the new girl's name. He hoped that she didn't notice. "We worked with your dad."

Sarah inhaled deeply. _First he forgot my name and now he's saying we worked with her dad when we don't even know what her dad does. This kid is not cut out for hunting._ Her inner monologue made her miss a few seconds of the conversation, but she caught up quickly.

One of Donna's blonde friends spoke up for her. "I don't think she really wants to talk right now."

She shook her friend off. "It's okay. I'm okay."

"Where there ever any symptoms?" Dean asked the distraught young woman. "Dizziness, migraines?"

"No, I don't think so."

"Are you sure? Because stuff like this doesn't happen out of nowhere." Sarah shoved her hands in her pockets, trying to look like a friend to her. Donna would be willing to share more if she felt if she had a friend.

The shorter, younger girl next to Donna quickly faced her. "That's because it wasn't a stroke."

Donna was surprised at the girl's comment. "Lily, don't say that."

"What?" Sam looked down at the girl, hoping she would share more.

Donna apologized for Lily's behavior. "She's just upset."

"No, it happened because of me."

"Sweetie, it didn't."

Sarah moved swiftly to the girl's side, upset at her words, knowing what it felt like to believe the blame was on her. "Lily, why would you say something like that?"

Lily was on the verge of tears. "Right before he died, I said it."

"Said what?"

Lily paused for a second and swallowed hard. "Bloody Mary, three times in the bathroom mirror."

Sarah looked up at Sam and Dean only to see that they were as shocked as she. Lily continued. "She took his eyes, that's what she does."

Donna stopped Lily from going on. "That's not why dad died. This isn't your fault."

"I think your sister's right, Lily. There's no way it could have been Bloody Mary," Dean told her. "Your dad didn't say it, did he?"

"No, I don't think so," she admitted.

"Then there you go." Sarah brought herself up from her knees and once again stood next to the boys.

"We'll see you later, then. Again, we're really sorry about your loss." Sam nudged his head toward the house and began to head back inside.

Sam, Dean, and Sarah, quietly managed to get upstairs, undetected. They wanted to search the original crime scene to see if they could find anything supernatural relating to the father's sudden and tragic death.

"You went to that girl awfully quick." Dean rested his arm on Sarah's shoulder and tried to look into her dark chocolate eyes for truth.

"So?"

"Why the speed, Flash?"

"We needed to find out what she knew."

"No, I'm sure there's more than that."

"Oh, you're sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure."

Sarah shoved his arm off of her and walked ahead, having trouble even glancing at Dean. "Well, you're wrong."

Again, they were silent. Sam and Dean both knew this girl was protective of a secret, but what could be so bad? Her silence made the brothers trust her less and less. If she wasn't talking, what was she hiding? If she wanted to continue to work with them, she would need to say something of value.

They came across a closed door on the top floor. Sam opened it slowly and cautiously. The door revealed a deep blue and white bathroom where the police reported the death occurred. The granite floor tiling was still stained with blood near the entrance.

"The Bloody Mary legend." Sam stared at the bloody floor.

"That's all it is, a legend." Sarah was convinced that this had to be something else. Her sister forced her to do Bloody Mary when she was a kid. It was a right of passage for her and nothing happened. There would be no reason for it to start up now.

"Legends originate from some truth." Dean took a small step into the room and examined the mirror. Maybe there were clues that told them otherwise.

"Dad ever find any evidence that it was a real thing?"

"Not that I know of." Dean flicked on the light and stepped in further.

Sarah slid past Sam as he crouched on the ground to touch the dry blood and met Dean in front of the shower. "I mean, everywhere else, all over the country, kids have played Bloody Mary and as far as we know, nobody dies from it."

"Yeah, even I've done it," Sarah admitted.

Dean, shocked Sarah had revealed anything at all about her past, couldn't help but ask, "You have?"

"Yeah. What? You guys never played?"

Dean shook his head. "Apparently, playing Bloody Mary kills people."

Sarah shrugged. "Maybe it was just a story everywhere else. I guess here, it could be real."

"The place where the legend began?" Sam stood back up on his feet and walked to Sarah and Dean. "But according to the legend, the person who says-" Sam stopped when Dean opened the medicine cabinet, putting Sam in front of the mirror. Not wanting to bring the curse down on himself, he slammed it shut. "The person who says 'You Know What' gets it, but here..."

Dean jumped in and finished Sam's sentence. "Shoemaker gets it instead. Never heard anything like that before."

"If we did, then our job would be too easy." Sarah pushed between the brothers and looked at the pearly white sink, trying to find anything.

"Very true." Dean nudged Sarah in the back, agreeing with her. "Still, the guy did die right in front of the mirror. And the daughter's right. The way the legend goes, 'You Know Who' scratches your eyes out."

"It's worth checking into."

"Wanna hit the library then?" Sarah stepped back and moved her gaze back and forth from Sam to Dean.

Suddenly, the clapping of heels on hardwood stopped all conversation. Sam and Dean both went ahead, alarmed about any approaching trouble. Donna's blonde friend met them at the door.

"What are you doing up here?"

"We..." Dean stuttered trying to find the right excuse. "We had to go to the bathroom."

Sarah squinted her eyes at him. _Really? That was the best you could come up with?__  
_

She ignored the lame excuse. "Who are you?"

"Like we said downstairs, we worked with Donna's dad." The more Dean ran his mouth, the more Sarah wanted to slap him upside the head. This was going to get them nowhere and she knew it.

"He was a day trader or something, he worked by himself." _I knew we shouldn't have said we worked with him._ Sarah tried to control herself as the teenager disproved their identities. "And all those weird questions downstairs, what was that?"

Sarah crossed her arms and stared at Dean, waiting for his next remark. He said they could do it on their own and Sarah wanted to prove him wrong. She said nothing, not wanting to save them from whatever was going to happen.

"So you better tell me what's going on or I start screaming."

Dean jumped slightly at the threat. Sam decided to just come out and say it. "All right, all right. We think something happened to Donna's dad."

"Yeah, a stroke."

"That's not the sign of a typical stroke. We think it might be something else."

"Like what?"

"Honestly, we don't know yet. But we don't want it to happen to anyone else. That's the truth." Sam's words caused Sarah to think a little about her first impression of him. She thought that he couldn't be a hunter, that he wasn't made to be one. Of course, she hasn't seen him in action yet, but this made her second guess her initial claim.

"So, if you're gonna scream," Dean added, "go right ahead."

The girl looked down at the floor for a second, changing her mind about screaming. "Who are you, cops?"

"Something like that." Dean was right. The hunters were close to being police officers, serving and protecting.

"I'll tell you what. Here." Sam pulled out a pad of paper and a pen from his back pocket and wrote down his cell phone number. "If you think of anything, you or your friends notice anything strange, out of the ordinary, just give us a call." He handed her the paper and led Sarah and Dean out of the bathroom without another word.

The trio piled back into Dean's car. "Now what?" Sam looked to his brother and new companion.

"Have you boys ever been to a library." Both Sam and Dean turned and stared at the young woman. "Because it's time to do some research. We need to see if we can connect this Bloody Mary legend with what happened to Shoemaker. If we can't find anything, then we're back to square one."

"Where else would we go besides a library? That's always the next step in the investigation." Dean turned the key to the Impala and started the engine.

"Oh please. You're just jealous because I said it first. Sam, I think your brother has a bit of an anger issue. Maybe you should help him address it."

"I am not jealous and I am not mad." Dean shouted at his little brother. "Sam, where's the nearest library?"

"Um, a couple blocks, I think."

"Good. Let's get this over with as fast as possible. I want to finish this before I kill her." Dean sped down the street in frustration.

Sarah leaned forward and put her elbows over the front seat. "Wow. Such a child." She faced Sam. "Hey, Sam. Have you ever thought about going solo?"

He grinned at her suggestion. "No. I wasn't exactly planning on sticking to this for very long. I'm just helping Dean find our father."

"Sam," Dean warned.

"What? Is he missing or something?" Sarah asked.

"Yeah, kinda."

"Sam?!" Dean repeated, nearly blowing out Sarah's ear drum.

"All right," Sarah backed up to the backseat. "Touchy subject. I'll back off. I was just trying to make conversation."

"Yeah, well don't. You don't need to know our business."

Sarah crossed her legs and folded her arms. "Why don't you trust me, Dean? I'm only here to help."

He looked in the rear view mirror and into her deep brown eyes. "First of all, we established that we don't need your help. Second of all, you don't trust us, so why should we trust you?"

"Dean, come on. Maybe she could help." Sam didn't like that Dean was being so cruel to Sarah. He could tell that she wasn't a bad person or anything. He wanted her help.

She lifted her hand slightly in agreement with Dean. "Fair enough. And sorry, Sam. I haven't heard anything in the hunter grape vine about missing Dads. If I do, I'll let you boys know."

"Thank you, Sarah." Sam accepted her input.

"Okay, that's enough about Dad." Dean abruptly turned the steering wheel to the right.

"Woah there, cowboy. Take it easy. We'll drop the subject. What do you want to talk about?" Sarah knew she could be annoying at times. Sometimes, she didn't know when to shut her mouth. Dean's crazy driving gave her the signal this time.

"Nothing. Can we please just have silence for the rest of the ride?"

Sarah sank into her seat, knowing she pushed Dean a little far. "Yeah. Sure." She felt guilty and understood why Dean disliked her so much. She wasn't exactly trying to make him upset. It just happens. Not wanting to upset him more, she obeyed his request and sat silently for the rest of the ride to the local library.

Every once in a while Dean would look back at her face and see the guilt in it. He tried not to care. _She was being too nosey,_ he would think. _She should learn to keep her mouth shut._ Dean would force his eyes back on to the road and tried to focus, but they somehow always managed to make it back to her face. _Maybe I was being too hard on her. It doesn't look like she has any friends. She might not know how to make a good conversation_. Guilt fell on to his shoulders soon as well, but he brushed it off. _I have to focus on the case. That's what's important._

About ten minutes after getting into the car, they pulled up to the town's public library. The building was older, but was in decent condition. The cars in the parking lot nearly took up all of the spaces. It was a busy day.

Dean found a spot after a few minutes of searching. The three hunters exited the car, leaving behind all that was said, and entered the library with the case in mind.

As the trio walked in, Dean broke the silence. "All right. Say Bloody Mary is haunting this town. There's gonna be some sort of proof, right? A local woman died nasty."

"Yeah, but a legend this wide spread, it's hard," Sam answered his brother. "I mean, there's like fifty versions of who she actually is. One story says she's a witch, another says she's a mutilated bride. There's a lot more."

"Hell, I've even heard one where she was just a kid and her mother scratched her eyes out." Both Sam and Dean stopped and looked at Sarah. "What?"

"Where did you hear that?" Dean's face was crunched with confusion.

"Well, when you go to an all girls sleepover, they tell scary stories. That happened to be one of them. It's actually very popular where I'm from."

"Seriously? What sick place came up with that?"

"Dean, if you're asking where I'm from, don't call it a sick place. That would make me not want to tell you." Sarah loved her home town. Even though she hardly visited anymore, she always tried to keep herself up to date on the newest news stories and sports teams.

Sam nodded at her. "She's right, Dean. Would you want to tell her about home if she called it a sick place?"

Dean couldn't believe Sam was always on Sarah's side. They had only just met and the two of them were ganging up on him already. _I bet he likes her. That's why he's keeping her around._ Dean sighed. "Fine. Sarah, where are you from?"

"Wow, Dean, that's very nice of you to ask," Sarah said in a sarcastic tone. "I'm from New York."

"Like, the city?"

"No, not the city. Why does everyone always ask that?" This was a problem among the people that resided from New York state. Everyone they met always assumed they were from New York City when most of the time, that was not the case.

"Okay, then where?"

"Buffalo, actually." Sarah was afraid to answer Dean. She honestly didn't want to. But for some reason, her mouth just let it out.

Dean chuckled. "Really?"

"How is that funny?" Sarah shot at him.

"That place has the worst sports teams ever." Dean couldn't contain himself. _She sounded proud to be from somewhere that can't even bring back one championship._

"So? I don't think that has any reflection on the city at all. Besides, Buffalo has the most supportive fans in the whole country." Sarah was always extremely defensive of her home town. She hated when other hunters would judge it when most didn't even have a home at all.

"Guys," Sam stepped in. "We have a case to get back to."

Dean could see the offense that she had taken to his remark. Normally, he would have forgotten about it, but felt too awful to let it go. "You're right. I'm sorry."

Sarah's surprise drove all of her previous anger away. "Uh, thanks." She didn't know what else to say. She did not expect that at all from him.

"So, uh, Sam. The Bloody Mary stories."

Sam looked at his brother. He shared in Sarah's shock. "Right."

Dean lifted his hands from his sides, looking for more of an answer. "So what are we supposed to be looking for?"

Sam took a second to get back on track before answering. "Well, every version's got a few things in common. It's always a woman named Mary, and she always dies in front of a mirror. So we've got to search local newspapers, public records as far back as they go, see if we can find a Mary who fits the bill."

"Well, that sounds annoying."

Sarah sighed. "Extremely."

"No, it won't be so bad, as long as we..." Sam stopped, seeing the computers in the library with an 'Out Of Order' sign taped to each one.

"You were saying?" Sarah placed her hands on her hips and shifted her weight to the left. She shook her head. _The boy spoke too soon.__  
_

"Okay, I take it back. This will be very annoying."

The hours ticked by as Sam, Dean, and Sarah searched the public library for books that will give them clues. After only finding three or four, they gave up and decided to go back to a motel and look everything over.

Sarah told them of the motel she was staying at. It wasn't too far away and the search for answers had become tiring.

Dean pulled up to the room Sarah directed him to and commanded that Sam follow him to register for their own room.

"You don't need to get your own room. I've got one here." Sarah slid the key in, but didn't turn it.

"Thanks, but no thanks. I don't really want to stay in the same room as you any longer than I have to." Dean tugged on Sam's jacket, jolting the tall young man towards him.

Sarah chuckled, not amused. "You're mistaken if you think that was a friendly suggestion, Dean. I'm telling you to stay here so I can keep my eye on you two. Sorry, but I don't trust you and I would feel a lot better if I can make sure you're not going to take the case and bail." She turned the key and flung the door open. "Now, get inside so we can do this like professionals." She didn't wait for them to answer. Sarah knew that she was right and she knew that they knew it, too.

She walked to her bag that sat on the bed farthest from the window and moved it to the kitchen table. She took out a black and white stripped tank top and black jeans. She kicked off her shoes and grabbed her one and only pair of combat boots. "I'm going to get changed, so don't think about ditching me. Oh, and don't go through my stuff. That would just be creepy."

The boys walked in just in time to hear her before she walked into the bathroom. Dean leaned over to Sam and whispered, "I don't like this."

"Why not? She has a point. There obviously isn't a lot of trust here. So, it would make a ton of sense for us to stay in the same room. She wants to keep and eye on us and we want to do the same with her. So what's the big deal?" Sam liked this girl, not in a flirtatious kind of way, but in an ally kind of way. They all wanted the same things and and this job would go faster with another mind there to help.

"I know it makes sense, but I still don't like it." Dean walked out of the room to his car. He popped the trunk open and grabbed his and Sam's bags. Dean knew that there was no arguing with Sam or Sarah. It would just make things easier to go along with it.

Dean threw one bag on each of the beds when Sarah opened the door. "Hey!" she called, looking at Dean. "One of these beds are mine. Now, get your bag off and put it on the ground."

"Well there are only two beds."

"You can count. Good job." Since Dean wasn't moving, Sarah grabbed the bag herself.

Dean grabbed her arm. "Don't touch my stuff."

Sarah stared deep into his eyes. "Then get it off my bed." She jerked her hand out of his grasp.

This time Dean obeyed. Be dropped it on the ground. "There. You happy."

"Yes. Thanks for asking." Sarah pushed past them to get to the table by the wall. Sam had set the books down there and it was time to get to work.

"Where are we supposed to sleep then?" Dean didn't want to drop the subject. He didn't like being bossed around.

"Well, Sam could have the other bed. You. I really don't care. Sleep on the floor if you want. Or better yet, sleep in the bed with Sam." She flipped the first book on the pile open to the first page.

Dean slammed it closed on her. "I don't think so. I need a bed to myself."

"What do you want from me, Dean? Do you want me to sleep on the ground because you're complaining like a little girl. That's not going to happen. I paid for this room and I'm going to sleep on one of the beds." Sarah couldn't believe how much of a child Dean was being about this. _How did they last this long?_

"You didn't pay for this room. The poor sap who you stole the credit cards from is."

"Don't be a hypocrite. You know you steal cards, too. If it would make you happy, you can share a bed with me."_ I did not just suggest that!_ Sarah immediately regretted what came came out of her mouth.

"I'd rather sleep on the floor."

"Fine. Maybe we'll put you out like a dog." Sarah had no patience when it came to Dean. There was something about him that annoyed her.

Sam had enough. "Guys! You have got to stop this. This fighting over random crap isn't getting us anywhere. In case you forgot, we have more pressing matters to attend to. People will die if you keep doing this!"

Sarah and Dean both stared at Sam. He was right and they knew it. They just didn't want to admit it.

Silently, Sarah and Dean started their research. Sam watched them for a minute before picking up a book for himself.

After some time, Sarah stood up from her chair. Dean didn't look up at her. He just continued reading.

Sarah went to her bag and dug through the side pocket. She pulled out a silver necklace with a diamond snowflake charm that hung on the chain. She slipped it on over her head and looked down at it. Sarah didn't like to wear it while hunting, but she needed it. This small token gave her strength.

Sam had fallen on the motel bed with a book by his side. He squirmed as his dreams raged on.

"Should we be letting him sleep? We have a lot of work to do," Sarah whispered to Dean as she sat back down.

"Let him sleep. This is the most he's got in the past couple weeks." Dean worried about his little brother. Sam had been acting strange and the not sleeping was making it worse.

"What could he possibly be dreaming about to make him squirm that much?"

"You have no idea."

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for reading this chapter. The story should be picking up more very soon. This chapter was named after Matter Of Trust by Billy Joel. **


	4. Chapter 3: Strangers Like Me

Chapter 3

Strangers Like Me

(Season 1, episode 5 _Bloody Mary_)

Sam inhaled a lot of air when he woke up. He stared at the ceiling. "Why'd you let me fall asleep?"

"'Cause I'm an awesome brother," Dean answered.

Sarah shifted uncomfortably in her seat. They needed Sam, but Dean let him sleep. She may not have liked it, but she understood.

"So, what did you dream about?" Dean asked his brother.

"Lollipops and candy canes," Sam answered sarcastically.

"Yeah, sure."

Sarah turned back to her book and continued reading.

"Did you find anything?" Sam propped himself up.

"Oh, besides a whole new level of frustration? No. We've looked at everything." Sarah was pleased to hear Dean include her. "A few local women, a Laura and a Catherine, committed suicide in front of a mirror, and a giant mirror fell on a guy named Dave. But, uh... No Mary."

Sam fell back down on the bed. "Maybe we just haven't found it yet."

"We've also been searching for strange deaths in the area," Sarah added.

"Eyeball bleeding, that sort of thing. There's nothing. Whatever's happening here, maybe it just ain't Mary."

"Well, there has to be something," Sarah said as she lifted the books and shuffled them around, searching for anything that would prove that it was Mary. She came across an open journal near Dean's side. _I wonder if this has anything._ She read through and one name popped out at her. _Winchester_. She dropped the journal and made a loud bang.

"Hey, what are you doing with that?" Dean snatched the journal from the table. "That's not yours."

She pointed at it. "Winchester. As in, John Winchester?" She noticed the boys never said their names and that was probably why.

"Yeah. Why?" Sam picked himself up again, hearing the alarm in her voice.

"Uh, I have to go. The case is yours." She stood up and ran to her bag, grabbing her leather jacket and slipping it on quickly.

"Wait." Dean stood from his chair. "What does our father have to do with this?"

"Um, nothing. I just need to go."

Dean grabbed her arm to stop her. "You fought for this case and when you found out our last name, you want out. You better start explaining."

She tugged away. Sarah rested her hands on the counter in the motel room kitchen. "You want to hear the story? Fine. When I was five or six, my parents went out to do a job with my uncle, Chris. He was my dad's brother. They were close, loved working cases together. Uncle Chris was always around and he was one of my favorite people. Well, the case was a vampire nest. There may have been fifteen or twenty of them. I don't know. I just know it required an extra pair of hands. My sister and I were too young at the time. They three of them ran into another hunter. They could tell he had only been at the job for a few years, but they didn't have a choice. These vampires were killing a lot of people, dozens, and the problem needed to be dealt with. So, my mother, father, uncle, and this new guy went to take care of the nest. Since there were so many, they needed a plan of action. Being in such a rush, the new guy pushed my uncle out and used him as bait. Before my dad could get him out of there, those bloodsuckers were on him, draining every last ounce of blood he had. My mother, father, and the new guy finished off the vampires, but my uncle didn't get a chance to defend himself." Sarah wiped a tear that began to fall from her eye. "That guy's name was John Winchester." She fixed her eyes on Sam and Dean. "After that, my parents had one simple instruction when it came to hunting. 'Never work with a Winchester because that's how you get killed.' So boys, this is goodbye. I don't want to die. Not yet."

"Sarah, wait." Sam said, trying to stop her. "I'm sorry about what our dad did. But we're not like that."

"Sam, if she wants to go, let her. She won't listen anyway. Save your breath." Dean flipped his hand in a way that said 'forget about her.'

"No, Dean. Dad has messed up everything in our lives. I'm not going to let him ruin our friendships either. That's why she doesn't trust us. Her parents trusted Dad and he let them down." Sam turned to Sarah. "Sarah, I will not let that happen to you. We need your help on this. Please don't leave."

Sarah's face was tight. She was afraid. She was always afraid of dying. This was the closest she's been to death in a long time. "Your brother clearly doesn't want me here so why are you fighting so hard to keep me?"

"Because people are dying. We've got nothing. We need all the help we could get. Forget about Dean, Sarah. Think about all the people who could die if you walk out on us now."

Dean hated the fact that Sam was fighting so hard to get her to stay. She was nothing to them, but Sam didn't see it that way.

Before anyone could say another word, Sam's phone started to ring. "Hello?" He answered. "Hey, yeah. Is everything-" he paused listening to the person on the other end of the line. "Okay. We'll meet you at the park in ten minutes or so. Okay? Hang in there, Charlie." He hung up his cell phone looked over at Dean. "That was Charlie, the girl who caught us at the memorial service. Her friend Jill just died just like Shoemaker."

Dean's shoulders slumped. "Damn!" he cussed.

Sam looked to Sarah. "We need you on this."

Sarah swallowed hard. "Fine. But if either of you get me killed, I'm coming after you as a ghost." She led the way to the Impala and the trio made their way to the park.

They met Charlie on a park bench underneath a tree. There, she explained why she called. "They found her ok the bathroom floor. And her, her eyes... They were gone."

Sam felt sympathy for the teen. "I'm sorry."

Through her tears, she told them that she said it. "I heard her say it." Sam, Dean, and Sarah all looked at one another. "But it couldn't be because of that. I'm insane, right?"

"No, you're not insane," Dean assured her.

Charlie shook her head. "God, that makes me feel so much worse."

Sam thought that it was time to tell her the truth. "We think something's happening here, something that can't be explained."

"And we're gonna stop it, all three of us," Dean said as he glanced over at Sarah. "But we could use your help." That last sentence was meant for both Sarah and Charlie. He needed them both so they could stop this. He realized that now.

Sam, Dean, and Sarah took a trip to Jill's home where Charlie let them in through the bedroom window. They figured that it was easier to do it this way than to explain to the grieving parents that their daughter may have been killed by Bloody Mary.

When Sam asked Charlie what she told Jill's mother, Charlie replied, "I just said I needed some time alone with Jill's pictures and things. I hate lying to her."

"Trust us. It's for the greater good. Hit the lights," Dean commanded.

Charlie complied and then asked what they were looking for. To this, Dean answered. "We'll let you know as soon as we find it."

"Basically anything that could be remotely connected with Jill's death." That was the first time Sarah had spoken since her story in the motel room.

Dean looked at her apologetically. Sarah didn't see it, but he did it anyway. He believed she deserved more credit than he gave her.

Sam picked up one of the cameras in his bag. "Hey, night vision." This made Dean come back to reality. Dean turned it on for his little brother. "Thanks. Perfect."

"Do I look like Paris Hilton?" Dean joked.

Sarah chuckled. It was a serious time, but he tried his best to lighten the mood. Sarah appreciated that about him.

Dean quickly glanced at Sarah. Hearing her laugh made him feel good inside. He didn't understand why, it just did.

Sam looked at her disapprovingly. 'Sorry,' she mouthed to him.

With the camera open, Sam peeked inside Jill's closet. "So, I don't get it. I mean, the first victim didn't summon Mary, and the second victim did. How's she choosing them?"

"Beats me." Dean scanned the room with EMF. "I want to know why Jill said it in the first place."

"It was just a joke," Charlie shrugged.

"Well, it wasn't funny," Sarah mumbled to herself. She had a flashlight and was looking for any sign that it was something other than a ghost.

"Yeah, well, somebody's gonna say it again. It's just a matter of time." Dean walked by Sarah as she looked under the bed. She had a nice body. She wasn't the prettiest, but decent. She didn't know it, but Dean liked what he saw. She wasn't the typical bar chick he'd come across every week. She was modest and a bit heavier than most, but that was perfect. He wouldn't want her any other way. _Wait. Want? No. This is just business. That's all it's every going to be. _

Sam noticed something in the bathroom. He called to Dean and Sarah. "There's a black light in the trunk, right?"

"Yeah. Hang on. I'll go get it." Dean was glad that Sam asked for something. He was looking for any excuse to get out of there. He knew he needed to stop thinking about the mysterious girl they'd come across. He just couldn't while he was in the same room. Dean wanted to take his time, but this was a time sensitive case. If they wasted anymore time, someone else was going to die.

While Dean was grabbing the black light, Sarah and Sam were taking down the bathroom mirror. "Can I ask why we're taking down a dead girl's mirror?" Sarah whispered to Sam, not wanting Charlie to overhear.

"I saw some residue on the bottom. It could be a clue."

"Or it could be nothing."

"Or it could be nothing," Sam repeated. "But how will we know if we don't look?"

At that moment, Dean was climbing back through the window. He tossed the light to Sam, who nearly dropped, almost causing the light to hit Sarah. Sam apologized before turning back to the mirror.

He ripped the paper covering off the back of the mirror and scanned it with the black light. This revealed a handprint and a name. Charlie read it aloud. "Gary Bryman?"

"You know who that is?" Sam clicked off the light.

"No," Charlie claimed.

Jill's mother called up. "Charlie? Are you almost done? Jill's father and I need to go and make some arrangements."

Charlie jumped. "Um, yeah. I'll be down in a minute." She looked over at Sam. "We have to go.

The four of them scurried to put everything back into place. Dean told Charlie to meet them back at the park as he climbed down first out of the window. Sam went second, followed by Sarah.

While climbing down the roof near the window, Sarah's foot slipped causing her to lose balance. Before she tumbled to the ground, Dean reached out his hands and caught her in mid air. Both of them stayed still, shocked at what had just happened.

"If you would have died there, it wouldn't have been our fault," Dean joked, putting Sarah back firmly on the ground.

"Very true. Thanks." She patted him on the shoulder. Inside, she was sad that he was forced to put her down. She liked being in his arms. _No. This was business, a one time thing. Pull yourself together, Sarah. _

Once they were back to the car, Dean went to his brother. "Do you want to go see who Gary Bryman is? Sarah and I will meet Charlie back at the park."

Sam and Sarah were both shocked at Dean's suggestion. "You want me to go with you?"

"Well, I figured having you there would be great moral support for Charlie."_ No, that's a lie. I want you there with me._ Dean smiled at them, trying not to think about the real reason for wanting her around.

"Uh, yeah. Okay. Sounds good to me. I'll meet you two at the park then?" Sam grabbed his notepad from the passengers side of the car. The library was within walking distance of Jill's home.

"Yeah, sounds like a plan." Sarah nodded quickly. She liked and disliked the thought of being alone with Dean, even if it were for a few minutes. She was both attracted and repulsed by him. She just couldn't pick one.

Sam nodded and started walking in hopes of getting a working computer, or at least be able to glance at the public records.

Dean sat on the drivers side and brought the car to life. It was nearly 40 years old, but still purred like it was just purchased off the showroom floor. The doors may squeak and creak when they were opened and closed, but otherwise was in near mint condition. Dean treated this car like it was his baby. He even called it Baby. It meant everything to him. He was the only one aloud to drive it.

Sarah stood outside of the passenger door, unsure if she should enter. That was Sam's spot. Even though he wasn't there, she felt as if she violating a secret code the brothers held.

He waited for only a minute. "What are you doing?"

She leaned down and spoke through the open window. "Are you sure you want me to get in?"

"I'm not gonna make you walk if that's what you're asking."

"I meant, are you sure you don't want me to sit in back." She pushed her hair behind her ear as it fell like a waterfall on her right side.

Dean leaned over and pushed the car door open. "I don't hate you that much. Now get in. We're wasting time."

Reluctantly, Sarah ducked into the passenger side. Her heart was pounding. She liked being this close to Dean. She appreciated the concentration in his eyes every time he turned the wheel.

Dean cleared his throat. "I'm, uh, I'm sorry about your uncle."

Sarah's voice was soft and low at best. "Thank you." He was genuine and she didn't expect that. Dean was full of surprises.

Dean tapped along to the drumbeat that played through the speakers. "Sarah, we're kinda going through something right now, but we do appreciate your help." His eyes were fixed on her. He had totally forgotten he was driving.

"Thank you, Dean. Really, I-" She looked forward and screamed. "DEAN! WATCH OUT!"

"Crap!" Dean swerved the car, just barely missing the car that started to pull out of a supermarket parking lot. "Watch where you're going!" He screamed at the driver of the car.

The two of them tried to catch their breath. Dean continued driving, keeping his eyes glued to the road this time. _No more distractions_.

Sarah started to laugh hysterically. She tried to cover her face, embarrassed about her laugh, but she couldn't hold it in.

"You sound like a machine gun," Dean commented. He couldn't help but smile too. His reason might have been different than her's but he laughed anyway. Her laugh was contagious.

"Don't make fun of me." She turned to the window, trying to control herself. The harder she tried, the harder she laughed.

"I'm not making fun of you. It's an interesting laugh."

"That's what everyone says when they're making fun of me." Her stomach hurt. It was a good pain, something she missed.

"What are you laughing at anyway?" Dean clicked the music off. It's not like he was able to hear it anyway.

"It's like you're trying to kill me at this point. Ever since I told you that story, it's like I've had a warrant on my head." Sarah felt her eyes start to water. She wiped them dry, but the water returned. She was laughing so hard, she was crying.

"And how is that funny?"

"The irony. I told you not to kill me and now I've almost died twice." She inhaled and exhaled. Her laughter slowed, but the smile didn't fade.

"Well, if you think about it, when you slipped from the roof, I caught you. When we almost crashed, I swerved. Technically, I saved your life twice today." Dean liked the sound of that. For some reason, he wanted to be the girl's hero.

"That is very true. Thank you, Dean Winchester, for putting me in situations where I think I'm going to die, but you end up saving me."

Dean pulled into the parking lot of the park and the two walked too a bench that stood along the running path. Sam was waiting for them there. He saw them smiling as Sarah and Dean approached him. "What are you two so happy about?"

Sarah's smile was still going strong. "We almost died."

Sam looked at her like she was insane. "What? Are you guys okay?"

Dean waved him off because Charlie was walking up the path. He dropped his smile. "We'll tell you later." He then pointed to the young blonde.

Sarah'a smile ceased as well. She didn't want to look at happy at such a serious situation, believing it was disrespectful.

Charlie sat down on the bench and looked up at Sam. "What did you find?"

He pulled a small piece of paper he had ripped out of his notebook and read from it. "Gary Bryman was an 8-year-old boy. Two years ago, he was killed in a hit and run. The car was described as a black Toyota Camery, but nobody got the plates or saw the driver."

Charlie went wide eyed. "Oh my, God. Jill drove that car."

"We need to get back to your friend Donna's house." Something was fishy and Dean could smell it.

Charlie called Donna and they all drove back to her place. Donna let them in, but didn't necessarily want them there.

Sam, Dean, and Sarah went to the bathroom where Shoemaker was killed and pulled down the mirror. After ripping off the paper covering on the back, they found the same thing. 'Linda Shoemaker' was written.

"So do you think that's Donna's mother?" Sarah asked the boys.

"It probably is. She probably isn't alive either." Dean clicked the light off.

"You think Shoemaker..." Sam couldn't finish. Just the thought alone made his stomach churn.

Sarah stood up from the floor. "Only one way to find out."

The trio met Charlie and Donna downstairs. They had to come up with a theory and they believed that Donna may have had the answer.

Dean whispered what they found on the back of the mirror. He mentioned what could be causing this. She tried her best to hide her fear, not wanting anyone, especially Donna, to see.

They asked Donna a bunch of questions that she didn't like. She definitely knew who Linda Shoemaker was. "Why are you asking me all this?" She questioned.

"We're sorry," Sam responded. "But it's important."

Donna swallowed hard and pushed her lips together. "Yeah, Linda's my mom. Okay? And she overdosed on sleeping pills. It was an accident and that's it." She shook her head in frustration. "I think you should leave."

"Donna, just listen-" Dean tried to explain, but Donna wasn't having it.

"Get out of my house!" She screamed and stormed off.

Charlie crossed her arms. "Oh, my God. Do you really think her dad could have killed her mom?"

Sam nodded slightly. "Maybe."

Charlie inhaled. "I think I should stick around."

"That's probably a good idea." Sarah hadn't had any friends in years. When she saw two people who were that close, she envied them, wanting it. At the same time, she was glad she was alone.

"All right, well, just whatever you do, don't..." Dean tried to warn.

Charlie cut him off, knowing exactly what he was thinking. "Believe me, I won't say it."

As they walked out, Sarah looked up to Sam and Dean. "Well, now what?"

"Well, I guess we should just go back to the motel and see what else we can find. Other than that, I don't know." Sam opened the passenger side door and climbed in.

"Sounds good. It's been a long day." Dean went around to the other side and jumped into his rightful place at the wheel.

Sarah sighed. Something felt right about sitting in the passenger seat next to Dean. The two of them had a good time together, despite their mutual hatred for each other. Being put in the back once again made her sad. Whatever fun they had was forgotten now. She was just the stranger. The back is where the strangers sit.

Dean drove them back to the motel quickly. His feelings were the same about Sarah. He thought she had forgotten their near death experience already. He silently wished she asked to sit up front.

She pulled the key from her pocket, slipped it into the knob, and turned. Sam and Dean followed her. She flicked the light on in the kitchen and threw her jacket on her bag. "I'm gonna take a shower. It's been a long day." She didn't wait for a response. Her head was starting to hurt.

Once Sarah closed the door, she slid down to the floor. Her chronic headaches were getting worse everyday. The pain would be so bad at times, pain killers wouldn't tackle it. The only way she would be able to control it was to take a long hot shower. This one was just starting so it would be easier to take care of.

She quickly undressed and hopped into the shower, trying her best to think about anything other than the case or the Winchester brothers.

Dean and Sam thought it was strange how she just went into the bathroom. She seemed to rush. They had work to do and she ditched them to relax. Sam didn't think as much of it as Dean. For some reason, that really bothered him.

Sam and Dean got to work. _We don't need her anyway. It's not like she's doing anything important here. We're doing all the work. _Dean complained in his mind about her constantly. He just couldn't ignore her.

She spent about a half hour in the shower before the head pain faded completely. She grabbed a towel and stepped out. She dripped water on the floor. _Oh, crap. I forgot my clothes. _She had left them in her bag. She had no other options than to open the door and call for assistance.

Sarah made sure she was properly covered and then popped her out just a crack. Sam was the first she saw. "Sam. Could you please grab my bag?"

"Oh, uh, yeah. Sure." He reached for it and handed it over. He kept his head turned so he didn't accidentally sneak a peek.

Dean couldn't help but look, however. Of course, he couldn't see anything except her head, hand, and white towel, but the sight of her made him go crazy. He was a bit disappointed that she asked for Sam's help and not his.

Minutes later, Sarah exited the bathroom in a black and white Blink-182 t-shirt, a pair of fluffy pajama pants with pink and white stripes, her hair tied back, and all makeup removed. She looked like a normal person, but one who didn't grow up. She didn't care what Sam and Dean thought about it. She hadn't bought any new clothes in years. These were from her teen years. She hopped on her bed of choice and listened to the conversation Sam and Dean had engaged in about the case.

Dean watched her. He did not expect those kind of night clothes from her. She seemed very tough, not too girly. Those pants said otherwise.

Sam brought Dean's attention back to him. "Wait, wait, wait. You're doing a nationwide search."

Dean blinked and looked back at the laptop on the table in front of him. "Yup. The NCIC, the FBI database, at this point, any Mary in the country who died in front of a mirror is good enough for me."

"But if she's haunting the town, she should have died in the town."

"I'm telling you, there's nothing local. I've checked, so, unless you've got a better idea."

"You're going to be there for a while," Sarah warned.

"It's worth it."

"The way Mary's choosing her victims, it seems like there's a pattern." Sam tried to offer his brother some sort of help.

"I know, I was thinking the same thing."

"With Mr. Shoemaker and Jill's hit and run..."

"Both had secrets where people died." Dean and Sarah said at the same time.

They only shared a look, thinking of how weird that was.

Sam noticed it, too, but continued on. "Right. I mean, there's a lot of folklore about mirrors that they reveal all your lies, all your secrets, that they're a true reflection of your soul, which is why it's bad luck to break them."

"Right. Right. Yeah, so maybe if you've got a secret, I mean, like a really nasty one where someone died, then Mary sees it and punishes you for it."

"Whether you're the one that summoned her or not."

Sarah shifted uncomfortably at Dean's theory. If it were true, then she was thinking she knew who was next.

"Take a look at this," Dean instructed both Sam and Sarah.

Sarah hopped down from the bed to see what Dean wanted to show her. They were crime scene photos of a woman who was murdered. She was bleeding from her head, lying face down and in front of a mirror. In another photo, a bloody handprint was marked on the lower right of the mirror.

Sam compared the handprint to the ones from the two other victims. "Looks like the same handprint."

"Her name was Mary Worthington," Dean informed them, "an unsolved murder in Fort Wayne, Indiana."

"Well, I guess we know where we're going in the morning." Sam leaned back in his seat. "We have to talk to the officer who worked the case."

"Yeah." Dean closed his laptop and rested his arms on top.

"Well, uh, we better get some sleep." Sarah turned quickly and jumped back into her bed. She buried herself in the covers and turned away from the boys.

"Um, Sarah? Are you all right?" Sam asked her, concerned.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just tired. We have a long day ahead." She swallowed her fear and closed her eyes. This case was taking a toll on her.

Sam and Dean both shrugged. Something was clearly bothering her, but who were they to pry? She probably kept it a secret from them for a reason.

Dean leaned over to his brother and whispered, "where am I going to sleep?"

"You can take my bed. I'm not tired."

"Sam..."

"No, Dean. I'm fine. Really. If I get tired, I'll just sleep on the floor. It's fine."

Dean shook his head. "All right. Wake me up if you need me." Dean needed his sleep, too. He was exhausted. Between worrying about Sam, searching for their father, and thinking about this new girl, Dean was out of energy. He passed out within minutes of lying down.

* * *

**A/N- Thank you all for reading. I hope you're enjoying the long chapters. I'll have another one soon. This chapter was named after Strangers Like Me by Phil Collins. **


	5. Chapter 4: In The Mirror

Chapter 4

In The Mirror

(Season 1, episode 5 - _Bloody Mary_)

The crew climbed into the Impala in the early hours of the next day. Their destination was Fort Wayne, Indiana. There, they would find the answers they were looking for about Mary Worthington's murder.

Sarah sat quietly in the back. She didn't speak. She only stared out the window and watched the earth flew by.

Sam and Dean both noticed her silence. They wondered what it was that shut her up. Sam was more concerned about than Dean. Neither of them wanted to ask her about it, though. They knew she wouldn't say anything about it.

Dean had found out the detective's name and where he lived. The plan was to pretend to be reporters who were writing about the murder.

The detective let them in without any trouble. _That's a breath of fresh air,_ Dean thought.

After offering the trio a drink and they refused, the detective started his story. "I was on the job for 35 years, detective for most of that. Now, everybody packs it in with a few loose ends, but the Mary Worthington murder... That one still gets me."

Sam and Dean walked around the living room. Sarah sat on the couch with a pad of paper and a blue ink pen. She jotted down every word that was said, even Dean's question. "What exactly happened?"

"You three said you were reporters."

Sam saved the from suspicion. "We know Mary was 19, lived by herself. We know she won a few beauty contests, dreamt of getting out of Indiana, being an actress. And we know, the night of March 29th, someone broke into her apartment and murdered her, cut out her eyes with a knife."

The detective nodded. "That's right."

_Wow. These boys did a lot of research. I need to pull myself together._ Sarah's mind was in a million places at once, but she brought it back to the case. That was the important thing right now. Personal things will be dealt with on personal time.

"See, Sir, when we ask you what happened, we want to know what you think happened," Dean added.

He nodded and walked over to the filing cabinet. He opened the top drawer and pulled out a thick file. "Technically, I'm not supposed to have a copy of this."

Sam, Dean, and Sarah gathered around the detective's desk. He pulled out pictures and detailed notes about the crime.

"Now..." The first picture he grabbed was of Mary in front of the mirror. Letters were drawn on with blood. "See that there, 'T-R-E'? I think Mary was trying to spell out the name of her killer."

"You know who it was?" Sam asked.

The detective stared at the picture. "Not for sure. But there was a local man, a surgeon, Trevor Sampson." He pulled out another photo of the surgeon. "And I think he cut her up good."

"Now, why would he do something like that?"

"Her diary mentioned a man she was seeing. She called him by his initial, 'T.' Well, her last entry, she was gonna tell T's wife about their affair."

Dean straightened his back. "Yeah, but how do you know it was this guy Sampson that killed her?"

"It's hard to say. But the way her eyes were cut out, it was almost professional."

"But you could never prove it?"

"No. No prints, no witnesses. He was meticulous."

Dean shoved his hands in his pockets. "Is he still alive?"

The detective grabbed his papers and sat down in his desk chair. "Nope. If you ask me, Mary spent her last living moments trying to expose this guy's secret. But she never could."

Sam looked up from the photographs. "Where is she buried?"

"She wasn't. She was cremated."

Sarah stopped writing for a second. _Damn. Now what?_

Dean pointed to the first picture. "What about that mirror? It's not in some evidence lockup somewhere, is it?"

_That's right. That makes sense._ Sarah hurriedly scribbled the last few sentences to catch up. She wanted to leave nothing out.

The detective adjusted his seat. "No. It was returned to Mary's family a long time ago."

"You have the names of her family by any chance?"

The detective stared at Sam a bit confused, but gave in. He handed over the list of Mary's family members and their last known locations and phone numbers.

They thanked him and went back to the car. Dean took the drivers seat like always and Sam was by his side. Sarah slowly climbed in the back seat and tossed her notes next to her.

"Jesus. Did you take notes of the entire conversation?" Dean looked at her through his rearview mirror.

Sarah didn't return the look. She sat and fiddled with her notes, trying to make it appear as if she was trying to organize them.

"Okay. Why?"

"I like to be thorough. You miss one thing and someone winds up dead."

"Okay then." Dean started up the car and began to drive back to Ohio.

"I'll start calling the families, see if anyone knows what happened to that mirror." Sam flipped open his phone and pressed numbers.

While Sam worked to get the information, Dean watched as Sarah nervously flipped through her notes. He hated to admit it, and claimed he never would out loud, but this behavior was starting to worry him. Only knowing her for a few short hours, he knew that this wasn't normal. If it was, she had a good way of hiding it.

Sarah knew how she must have looked to them, but she couldn't help it. She needs something to keep her mind occupied. She would do anything to keep her mind from drifting too far away.

"Oh, really?" Sam had gotten in contact with a family member of Mary. Sarah had zoned out, but hearing Sam's conversation brought her back to reality. "Ah, that's too bad, Mr. Worthington. I would have paid a lot of money for that mirror. Okay, well, maybe next time. All right, thanks." He snapped the phone closed.

"So?" Dean took his eyes away from the girl and back to the road.

"So, that was Mary's brother. The mirror was in the family for years, until he sold it one week ago to a store called Estate Antiques, a store in Toledo."

"Well, that's convenient," Sarah mumbled.

"So wherever the mirror goes, that's where Mary goes?" Dean didn't understand. It wasn't a usual occurance for a spirit to move with objects.

"Her spirit's definitely tied up with it somehow." Sam didn't think it was too common either.

"Isn't there an old superstition that says mirrors can capture spirits?"

Sarah listened silently to the boy's discussion. She answered silently to herself. _Yes_, _Dean. There is. _

"Yeah, there is." Sam rested his arm against the car door. "When someone would die in a house, people would cover up the mirrors so the ghost wouldn't get trapped."

"So Mary does in front of the mirror, and it draws in her spirit."

"Yeah, but how could she move through like a hundred different mirrors?"

_Maybe she was bored and decided that she hated that old mirror. Who knows?_ Sarah sighed. _I should just join the conversation. It's better than talking to myself. _

"I don't know, but if the mirror is the source, I say we find it and smash it," Dean suggested.

Sarah cleared her throat. "And pray we don't bring seven years of bad luck down upon us."

Dean nodded, secretly glad that she decided to join in. "Exactly."

"Yeah, I don't know. Maybe." Just then, Sam's cell phone started to ring. He flicked it open and answered. "Hello?" He shifted uncomfortably. "Charlie?" He listened as the girl cried and explained her hysteria. "Okay, Charlie calm down. We are on our way. Don't look in any mirrors. Keep your eyes closed. We'll be there soon." he closed his phone.

"She said it?" Sarah asked.

Sam looked back at Sarah. "Donna did. Now, Charlie is seeing Mary."

"So, wait. If Charlie is seeing her, doesn't that mean she killed someone." Dean scrunched his face in surprise.

"God. I wonder what happened." Sarah couldn't believe it either. She dropped her notes on her lap and looked at Dean in the mirror.

"I don't know. I guess we'll find out when we get there. How much farther?" Sam looked over at his brother.

"Not much. We're almost there." Dean pressed down on the gas pedal and sped down the highway. He wasn't going to let another die, not today.

In no time, Dean was pulling up to Charlie's house. She was waiting outside on the curb. Her arms were around her legs and her face was planted between her knees.

Sarah hopped out first. "Charlie. Charlie, it's us. Give me your hand. Don't open your eyes."Sarah places her hand on top of Charlie's and gripped it tight. "Come on. We're gonna take you to a safe place." Sarah helped Charlie to her feet and into the car. "Remember, keep your eyes closed," Sarah instructed again.

Dean blew every stop light and sign and floored it back to the motel.

Once the car was to a complete stop, Sam got out and helped Charlie into the room. He made her sit on the bed with her hands around her eyes to make sure she didn't sneak and peaks.

Together, Sam, Dean, and Sarah covered every surface that could possibly hold a reflection. They closed the curtains, took down picture frames, put a sheet over the tv, and made sure that the mirrors were nowhere in sight.

Sam sat with Charlie, trying hard to comfort her. Once they were sure all reflective surfaces had disappeared, Sam said, "You can open up your eyes, Charlie. It's okay, all right?"

Dean and Sarah stood by the bed as Sam continued to talk to the girl. "Now, listen. You're gonna stay right here on this bed. You're not gonna look at glass or anything else that has a reflection, okay? As long as you do that she cannot get you."

Charlie's eyes fluttered open and she hugged herself in fear. "But I can't keep that up forever. I'm gonna die, aren't i?"

"No. No. Not anytime soon."

Dean couldn't take it anymore. He needed to know the truth. "All right, Charlie, we need to know what happened."

"We were in the bathroom. Donna said it."

"That's not what we're talking about."

Charlie stared at Dean with tear filled eyes.

"Something happened, didn't it, in your life, a secret...Where someone got hurt?" When she looked away, Dean asked, "Can you tell us about it?"

Her lips quivered as she tried to hold it together. "I had this boyfriend. I loved him. But he kind of scared me, too, you know? And... One night at his house, we got in this fight. Then I broke up with him, and he got upset and he said he needed me and he loved me. And he said... 'Charlie, if you walk out that door right now, I'm gonna kill myself.' And do you know what I said? I said, 'Go ahead.' And I left. How could I say that? How could I leave him like that? I just... I didn't believe him, you know? I should have."

It was tragic and sad all at once. Sarah, Sam, and Dean didn't have words to help her.

It grew dark fast. It was the perfect chance to get the Estate Antiques and smash the mirror. It may or may not stop Mary, but they had to try. Charlie's life depended on it.

On this rainy night, they drove quickly. Dean's heart was heavy for that girl. "You know, her boyfriend killing himself, that's not really Charlie's fault."

"You know as well as I do, spirits don't exactly see shades of grey, Dean. Charlie had a secret, someone died. That's good enough for Mary." Sam looked at his brother, knowing how he felt.

"I guess."

"I wish spirits had some better judgment." Sarah sighed.

"Yeah, me too." Dean swallowed hard.

"You know, I've been thinking, it might not be enough to just smash the mirror."

Sarah leaned forward in her seat and Dean asked Sam, "Why, what do you mean?"

"Mary's hard to pin down, right?" Sam started. "I mean she moves around from mirror to mirror. So, who's to say that she's not gonna just keep hiding in them forever? So maybe... We should try to pin her down, you know, summon her to her mirror and them smash it."

"Well, how do you know that's gonna work?"

Sarah knew the answer. "He doesn't."

"I don't," Sam confirmed. "I'm not for sure."

"Well, who's gonna summon her?"

"I will. She'll come after me."

"What? No. Sam you can't do that." Sarah couldn't believe what Sam was saying. He was risking his life.

"Well, who else do you have?" Sam was annoyed with people telling him that he couldn't do something. He got wnough of it from Dean and his dad. He didn't need it from her, too.

"I'll do it." Sarah's eyes fell at the thought of her secret. "I can do it."

"No. Not you either." _Why is everyone so hell bent on killing themselves today. I'm not going to let them do this to themselves._ Dean cared more about Sarah than he thought. The very possibility of her being killed terrified him.

"Why?" Sam asked her. "What did you do?"

She didn't look up at him. "If I told you, it wouldn't exactly be a secret now, would it?"

"No. You're not going to feed yourselves to her." Dean couldn't look at them. Their suggestions were insane.

Sam ignored his brother. "No, Sarah. I have to do it."

Dean couldn't take it anymore. "All right, you know what? That's it's." He pulled the car over to the side of the road and halted. He didn't care if Sarah heard or not. His brother needed to start talking. He couldn't put it off anymore. "This is about Jessica, isn't it?"

Sam didn't answer. His eyes seemed to be dead.

Sarah leaned back in her seat. This conversation wasn't for her and she knew it.

"You think that's you dirty little secret, that you killed her somehow? Sam, this has got to stop, man. I mean, the nightmares and - and calling her name out in the middle of the night, it's gonna kill you. Now, listen to me. It wasn't your fault. If you want to blame something, then blame the thing that killed her. Or, hell, why don't you take a swing at me? I'm the one that dragged you away from her in the first place."

Sam shook his head. "I don't blame you."

"Well, you shouldn't blame yourself, because there's nothing you could've done."

"I could've warned her."

"About what? You didn't know what was gonna happen." Deab was yelling now. He was getting frustrated with his brother. "And, besides, all of this isn't a secret. I mean, I know all about it. It's not gonna work with Mary anyway."

"No, you don't."

Dean was taken aback. "I don't what?"

"You don't know all about it. I haven't told you everything."

"What are you talking about?"

"Like Sarah said, it wouldn't really be a secret if I told you, would it?"

"No. I don't like it. It's not gonna happen. Forget it."

"Dean, that girl back there is going to die unless we do something about it. And you know what? Who knows how many more people are gonna die after that? Now, we're doing this. You've got to let me do this."

Sam had defeated Dean. Not knowing what else to do, Dean turned to Sarah. "And you."

"What? What did I do?" Sarah shrugged.

"You're doing what he's doing. Now, I don't know what you did and I doubt you're going to tell me, but it's got to stop. Your guilt is making him worse."

"Dean." Sam hated that Dean was blaming this on Sarah. It wasn't her fault that he felt guilty about Jessica.

Sarah held up a hand to Sam. "No, Sam. It's okay." She turned her attention to Dean's eyes, instantly melt ing in them. They shined like emeralds. She had planned on telling him off, but his beautiful eyes prevented her from doing so. "I'm sorry," was all she managed to say.

Dean nodded. "Okay. Let's just do this fast. If there is one shred of evidence proving this is unsafe, I'm pulling you out of there. You got it?" He pointed to Sam.

"Yeah, I got it."

"I still don't like this." Dean brought the car back to life and sped through the rain to Estate Antiques.

They pulled up to the older looking building. It was dark inside and closed up for the night.

The trio approached the front door. Dean hit Sam on the back. "This was your genius idea. You pick the lock."

Sam sighed, annoyed at his brother, but went to pick the lock anyway. He did it quickly, too.

Imside, mirrors were displayed all over along with other antiques. It creeped Sarah out to see her reflection so many times at once. She hated looking at her self in mirrors and photos. Those things just remind her who she truly is.

Dean couldnt't believe the amount of mirrors that were there. "Well, that's just great." He didn't think they would ever find the mirror they needed in this mess. Dean pulled out the picture to compare it to every mirror in sight. "All right, let's start looking."

Sam and Dean each went down a separate isle. Seeing that there were only two isles to choose from, Sarah followed Dean. She convinced herself that Dean needed her because he didn't have a flashlight and she did.

"Man, this place could use a dusting."

"Eh, it's not the worst I've seen. At least we can still breathe." Dean wanted to tell her a story about when Sam and him were kids, but decided against it. It was too personal to share at a moment like this. "Maybe they've already sold it," Dean called to Sam.

"I don't think so."

Dean and Sarah followed the sound of Sam's voice. When they were once again united with him, they were all standing in front of a mirror. The mirror that Mary herself was murdered in front of. Dean double checked with the photo. "That's it."

He shoved it back into his pocket and looked questionably at his brother. "You sure about this?

Sam didn't respond. He only handed his flashlight to Dean and stepped closer to the mirror. He took a deep breath and then he said it. "Bloody Mary. Bloody Mary." Before saying it the third time, Sam readied himself with a crowbar to smash the mirror. "Bloody Mary."

Just then, headlights flashed into the front of the store.

"I'll go check that out," Dean volunteered. "You stay here. Be careful. Smash anything that moves."

Sam leaned over to Sarah. "Go with him. Mary might not come if I have someone with me."

Sarah hated leaving Sam alone like this, but his theory made sense. "Okay." She crouched down and jogged to catch up with Dean.

Dean looked back and saw Sarah behind him. "You should be with him. I don't want him by himself when that thing shows up."

"Me either, but Sam sent me away. He doesn't think she'll show if he's with someone."

Dean shook his head. "Whatever. Just stay low."

The two of them approached slowly and quietly. Dean reached the front first. "Crap."

"What?" Sarah asked. She peaked over Dean's shoulder. They must have set off the alarm because the police were parked right outside. "Crap," she repeated.

Dean set down the flashlight and stood up straight. "Okay. Just follow my lead."

Sarah didn't feel like questioning him. She stood up as well and trusted Dean. The two of them walked out of the store together.

"Hold it," one of the officers demanded.

Dean held out his hands. "Whoa, guys, false alarm. I tripped the system."

"Who are you?" asked another cop.

"I'm the boss's kid and this is my girlfriend." _Girlfriend_. There was just something about that word that Dean liked using to describe the girl standing next to him.

"You're Mr. Yamashiro's kid?"

"Well, yeah. I was adopted. I get that reaction all of the time."

The cops weren't buying his story. "I'm pretty sure Mr. Yamashiro didn't have any kids."

"Like I said, I was adopted."

"Yeah." The policemen started closing the gap between them.

Dean knew this wasn't going to end well. "You know, I just... We really don't have time for this right now." He threw the first punch causing the one officer to go down followed by another.

One grabbed Dean from behind, but Sarah grabbed her gun, hit him on the side of the head, knocking him out cold.

Dean fixed his jacket. "Thanks."

Sarah secured her weapon back on her side. "No problem."

Before walking back inside, Dean stopped Sarah. "Hey, I'm guessing there's no chance you're going to tell me about that person who died, is there?"

Sarah stared at the ground. "No. There's no chance."

"Well, in that case, I'm sorry for your loss."

Sarah stared up at him in shock. "Thank you." She had expected him to pry and ask multiple questions until he guessed it right. This was a relief for once.

"Come on. We need to get back to Sam."

Sarah shook her head. "Yeah. Let's go."

They jogged quickly back inside. They found Sam lying on the floor as his reflection spoke to him in the mirror.

Dean grabbed the nearest stick, ran to the mirror, and smashed it into thousands of pieces.

Sarah fell to Sam's side, making sure he was still breathing. She laId his head in her lap. She pulled out a rag and started to gently wipe the blood that ran from his eyes.

Dean joined them and grabbed Sam's face. "Sammy, Sammy!"

"It's Sam," he replied.

"God, are you okay?"

"Uh, yeah." Sam moved his attention to Sarah. "Thanks for wiping my face."

Sarah chuckled slightly. "No problem."

Dean grabbed Sam's arm and tried to bring him to his feet. "Come on, come on." He wrapped his brother's arm around himself and started walking toward the door thinking it was over.

Sarah picked herself up and was about to start following them when she heard something from the mirror. "Uh, guys."

Sam and Dean both turned around as Mary crawled out of the mirror.

Dean grabbed Sarah and pulled her back toward them. He wanted to keep her out of harm's way.

His attempt didn't matter, however, because Mary took her anger out on all three of them. Sarah, Dean, and Sam all started to bleed from their eyes. The pain they felt was unbearable and they fell to the floor.

Dean saw the pain that Sarah was in and he hated it. He felt that it was his responsibility to stop that pain. He reached over her and grabbed a large, square mirror and flashed it in Mary's face.

The ghost stopped suddenly and looks at herself in the mirror. Her reflection spoke back to her. "You killed them! All those people! You killed them!" She started bleeding from her eyes just like her victims. She couldn't breathe and started to melt. Her apparition spilled on to the floor and disappeared.

Dean threw the mirror he was holding, making it crash where she stood. The pain they all were feeling vanished and they could breathe again.

"Hey, Sam?" Dean spoke to his brother.

"Yeah?"

"That's gotta be like what, 600 years of bad luck?"

Sam wasn't exactly in the mood for jokes. That one got Sarah, though. She couldn't help but release a small chuckle.

Sam, Sarah, and Dean carried themselves to the car. It was finally over.

The sun was rising already by the time they reached the motel, picked up Charlie, and told her the good news. She was overwhelmed with joy. She was going to live another day.

They gave her a lift home. When Dean parked the car in front of her house, Charlie looked at all three of them. "So this is really over?"

"Yeah, it's over," Dean assured her.

"Thank you," she said and shook Dean's hand. She exited the car and started walking up her driveway.

"Charlie?" Sam called. "Your boyfriend's death, you really should try to forgive yourself. No matter what you did, you probably couldn't have stopped it. Sometimes bad things just happen."

After Charlie was safely back inside, Dean slapped his brother. "That's good advice." He started the car and drove back to the motel.

Sarah gathered up her things and shoved them into her bags. Sam and Dean did the same. They did this without saying a word. None of them knew what the next step was going to be.

Not believing that Dean was going to say something, Sarah grabbed her bags and headed for the door.

At first, he was just going to let her go. A split second of thinking changed his mind. Dean wanted to be near this girl. He wanted her to tag along with them. "Sarah, wait."

Sarah swallowed hard and turned back to Dean. "Yeah?"

"Why, uh, why don't you come with us?"

"What?"

"You know, traveling alone like that isn't exactly safe. Maybe you could tag along."

Sarah desperately wanted to tell him yes, but she couldn't. Working with others gets you killed. Getting close to someone like that will only end in heartbreak. "No. I'm sorry, Dean, but I work alone."

Dean had expected a completely different answer. "Seriously? Are you sure?"

Sarah nodded. "Yeah. I'm sure. Thanks for the offer, though. Maybe I'll see you around sometime."

"Yeah, maybe."

"It was nice working with you both. Goodbye, Sam. Goodbye, Dean."

"See ya, Sarah." Sam waved to her.

"Yeah. See ya." Dean would be lying if he said he wasn't disappointed. He thought the two of them connected at least a little. _Did she hate me that much where she didn't even want to come? _Dean blamed himself.

Sarah was drawn to them, but she couldn't tie herself down. Her only option was to turn down the offer. She was going to miss seeing Dean's beautiful eyes sparkle everyday.

* * *

**A/N- Thank you all for sticking with me through this story. Don't worry. Sarah and the boys will see each other again soon. Just so you all know, I made a playlist on YouTube of the songs I used to title my chapters. I posted the link in my bio. Check it out if you want to hear the songs :) This chapter was named after In The Mirror by Common Kings. Thank you all for reading.**


	6. Chapter 5: Unbelievers

Chapter 5

Unbelievers

(Season 1, episode 7 - _Hook Man_)

It had been a few weeks since Sarah had met the Winchester brothers. There wasn't a day that went by where she wouldn't think about them. She wondered what her life would have been like if she just accepted the ride. She knew that saying 'no' was the right thing to do, but she could still think about it. Being tied down to a certain group of people was dangerous, but there were times where she would regret it. She was really starting to like Sam and Dean.

Dean would have the same thoughts as well. That girl had done something to his mind. He would catch himself thinking about her and where she could be at that moment. He understood why she couldn't take them up on their offer to come along, but he still wished she said 'yes.' She could have made a great addition to their team. Dean just hoped that whatever she was doing, she was being safe about it.

He would also wonder if she thought about him as well. He couldn't get her off of his brain, but did he leave the same effect on her? The more he thought about it, no, it wasn't possible. _How could Sarah even think about me like that? She didn't even like me. Hell, she hated me. She seemed more into Sam than me._

No matter how much he thought about her, he couldn't let Sam know about it. Sam had other things on his mind. He didn't need to worry about his brother's fascination with a girl they worked with once. Instead, he played it like he had totally even forgotten about her. Sam would ask if he heard from Sarah every once in awhile, but Dean pretended not to care. Deep down, he felt pain at the sound of her name.

Sam was on the phone with someone who may have known where their father could be and Dean sat at the table and let his mind wonder. He was supposed to be doing some research on a case he found, but he just couldn't help it. He loved thinking about how that girl didn't give a crap whenever he insulted her. Her toughness seemed to make her more likable to him. When Sam came back, he pushed the thought of Sarah Greenely to the back of his mind and made a joke about Sam's drink order. "Your half-caff venti vanilla latte is getting cold here, Francis."

"Bite me," Sam said as he sat with his brother.

"So anything?"

"I had them check the FBI's missing-persons databank. No 'John Does' filling that description. I even ran his plates for traffic violations."

"Sam, I'm telling you, I don't think Dad wants to be found." Dean looked away from his brother for a second. He had to take a second look, but he knew he saw something. He hit his brother's leg and pointed to a shorter girl with long brown hair, holding a cup of coffee coming out of the coffee shop. "Is that...?" Dean trailed off. At first, Dean thought he was seeing things, but it just seemed too real to be a hallucination.

Sam followed his brother's gaze and saw her, too. "I think so. Should we invite her over?"

Dean didn't know what to answer. He wanted her with them but then he didn't. He felt her presence could hurt him more than when she left the first time. He watched as she took steps in the opposite direction.

Sam didn't want her to leave without them at least saying 'hi.' He knew his brother wasn't going to answer his question, so he stood up and called, "Sarah!"

The girl stopped and whipped her head around at the sound of her name. _Oh no_, she thought. She faked a smile, pretending to be glad to see them, and walked over to meet the brothers at their table. "Hey, guys." _Don't get attached, Sarah. You need to keep your distance. Say 'hello,' then leave. You can't stay._

Sam excitingly bent down to give her a hug. She accepted and hugged back with one arm. When he released her, she set her cup on the table. Dean didn't stand to greet her and she didn't expect him to. For all she knew, this was the first time he had thought about her in weeks. "Are you guys stalking me or something?"

Sam giggled. "No, we were just looking for our father. We thought he would be here."

"Oh, so no luck with that, huh?" Secretly, she had been asking her contacts if they had seen John Winchester as well. Although none of them have, she wanted to at least try and help Sam and Dean.

"So, what are you doing here?" Dean looked up from his screen and asked. "You're not stalking us, now are you?"

"No, Dean. I'm not stalking you either. I just finished a case a few streets away. I was just getting ready to leave town when I decided to for a cup of coffee. It was kind of a long night." Sarah picked up her drink, took a sip, and saw Dean's computer.

"How was it?" Sam asked, curiously.

"It was fine. Just a normal salt and burn. Nothing too big." She didn't want to admit that she hadn't worked anything big since she left them. All she did lately was small salt and burn cases.

Dean relaxed inside. _I don't see any bruises or cuts. Good. She's been safe at least._

"Are you guys working a case?"

"No-" Sam started, but Dean cut him off.

"Yeah, we are." This was the perfect excuse to ask Sarah to come along. _Claim we need help, then she'll have no choice but to join us_. He turned his computer to face his brother and the girl. "Check this out. News item out of _Plains Courier_, Ankeny, Iowa. It's only about 100 miles from here.

Sarah leaned down in between the boys as Sam read the article aloud. "'Mutilated body was found near the victim's car parked on 9 mile road.'"

"Keep reading," Dean instructed.

"'Authorities are unable to provide a realistic description of the killer. The sole eyewitness, whose name has been withheld, is quoted as saying the attacker was invisible.'"

"Could be something interesting."

"Or the witness could just be crazy," Sarah straightened herself down and looked at Dean.

Sam agreed with Sarah. "Meaning it could be nothing at all. One freaked out witness who didn't see anything doesn't mean it's the invisible man."

"But what if it is? Dad would check it out." Right then, Sam was on board. Now all Dean had to do was convince Sarah. "What about you?"

"I don't know. This seems more like something the two of you should do. I don't want to get in the way of you two finding your father." She was looking for any excuse to say 'no.' Sarah couldn't let herself get roped into another adventure with Sam and Dean, not again. It was such a close call last time.

"No. You wouldn't be in the way. We could really use your help with this." Dean wasn't going to let her go again. She was such a well trained hunter and he knew that she would be a great addition to their tiny team.

She sighed. If they really needed her help, she couldn't reject them. _Knowing my luck, they would really need my help. If I don't help, they could end up dead and that would be on me. I don't need that hanging over me._ "Fine. I'm in. I just need to pick up my stuff at my motel room."

"We'll drive you there." Dean closed his laptop and picked it up.

As he started walking, Sarah made a stop sign with her hand. "This isn't some kind of trap, is it?"

"Why would you think that?"

"Because you seem really happy right now and frankly, it's scaring the crap out of me."

Dean had been caught. He froze, not knowing how to answer. Blood quickly rushed to his cheeks.

Sam swooped in and saved him from further embarrassment. "You're a good hunter, Sarah. We're just glad you are willing to help."

She shook her head, trying to forget Dean's freaky behavior. "Uh, okay then. What are we waiting for? Let's get going, boys." She knew that Dean was playing something, but she didn't know what.

The three of them piled into Dean's car and drove to her motel room to collect her things. Dean and Sam sat and the car and waited for her. Once she was inside, Sam looked to his brother. "What the hell?"

"What?"

"You hated her and now you want her to tag along? We're supposed to be finding Dad, Dean. We can't let her get in the way."

"She won't be in the way. She could be real help."

"I know she can be, but that's not why you want her here. You just want to get in her pants."

Dean couldn't believe Sam's accusation. "No, I don't want to get in her pants, Sam. I just thought it would be nice to have someone else here besides the two of us."

"The two of us work fine."

"Not after last case."

"Last case was fine. We didn't die."

"No we didn't, but someone almost did. We were reckless. Maybe she could keep us in line."

Sam slumped in his seat. "You're so full of it."

Sarah opened the door from her room and carried bother her bags out. Dean was tired of this conversation and decided his time was better spent away from Sam. He opened his door and met Sarah outside. "Here. Let me take these and put them in the trunk. Go turn in the key and meet us back here."

She pulled away. "Um, no. How about you take the key and I'll put my stuff in the trunk?"

Dean took the key from her hand. "Still don't trust me?"

"Not really," she said as she walked back to the car.

"Fair enough. Sam, pop the trunk."

Soon, the trio was on the road again. Dean drove as Sam sat silently in the passenger seat. Sarah leaned forward in the back and struck up a conversation with Dean. "So, last I heard you were dead Mr. Winchester after brutally assaulting, what? Two women?"

"Yeah. I was shot and killed while attacking one of Sam's old college friends. I'm just the ghost of Dean Winchester. Sam was just too attached to burn my body," he joked. "No. It was a shapeshifter."

"A shapeshifter?"

"Yup. Decided to take the look of the better looking one."

"Well, I wouldn't say that." That got a small giggle out of Sam. "Wow. I haven't heard of a shifter appearance in years."

"Us either. Imagine the shock we had when we found out. So wait. If you heard all that stuff about me, why did you decide to tag along?"

"They said you were dead. When I saw you breathing, I figured that whatever happened back in St. Louis had something to do with a case."

"You figured correct."

They seemed to reach the town in no time at all. Sarah was actually a bit upset to see that they were there so soon. They were having such a good time in the car and she didn't want that to end.

It was a small college neighborhood. Young college students roamed the streets with backpacks and books. They pulled up in front of a large house with a bunch of young men hanging around.

"Tell me again, why are we here?" Sam asked Dean as they exited the car.

"Victim lived here." Together, the three of them approached a boy under his car. "Nice wheels," Dean complimented. He just stared at them. "We're your fraternity brothers from Ohio. We're new in town - transfers. Looking for a place to stay."

"What about her?"

"I'm his girlfriend," Sarah lied and pointed to Dean. For some reason, whenever someone questioned her presence with them, it resulted in her becoming Dean's fake girlfriend. _We really need to stop doing that._

"She can stay here as long she wants," the kid's friend commented.

Dean just shrugged. He hid the fact that what that kid said pissed him off. He had no reason to be upset. It's not like they were actually dating or anything. He just thought they should respect her better. _I bet if they knew what we actually did, they would show some more respect._

The kid agreed to let them stay upstairs, but went back to working on his car. Dean led the three of them up the stairs.

"God, I hate college kids," Sarah whispered, not wanting any of the other boys to hear her.

Dean smiled. "Why?"

"They're gross, smelly, and childish."

"Hey," Sam voiced, slightly offended being a college kid himself.

"Sorry, Sam, but its true."

They reached an open door with a sticker that said 'purple man' tacked to it. Inside the room, a boy was painting himself blue for an upcoming pep rally.

"See," Sarah commented.

Dean knocked on the door and the kid stopped what he was doing. "Who are you?" he asked.

"We're your new roommates."

The kid didn't argue nor did he question Sarah's presence. "Do me a favor? Get my back." He reached his hand out and offered the paint brush to Dean. "Big game today."

Dean stared at him in surprise and pointed to Sam. "He's the artist. Things he can do with a brush..."

Sam gave Dean the death stare, but took the brush anyway. He didn't want their cover to be blown.

Dean sat on a chair next to a window and picked up a magazine. Sarah sat on the floor next to him, praying that it was at least semi clean. "So..." Dean started. "Murph, is it true?"

"What?"

"We heard one of the guys here got killed last week." Sarah elbowed Dean in the knee. _He should be a little more sensitive. _

_"_Yeah."

"What happened?" Sam asked the boy as he painted his back.

"They're saying some psycho with a knife, maybe a drifter passing through. Rich was a good guy."

"Rich was with somebody?"

"Not just somebody - Lori Sorenson."

That got Dean's attention. "Who's Lori Sorenson?" He pointed to the kid's back. "You missed a spot."

"Lori's a freshman. She's a local. Super hot."

Sarah pressed her hand to her forehead. Some guys just have no respect for women and she hated it.

"And get this - she's a reverend's daughter."

"You wouldn't happen to know which church, would you?"

He told them which church and exactly how to get there. Dean thanked him and the three exited the house.

Sarah couldn't have been more relieved to be out of there. Once they were at the car, she gasped for air. "I swear, I had to hold my breath the whole time. It smelled awful."

Dean opened his door and sat behind the wheel. "Oh, it wasn't that bad."

"'Not that bad?' Were you in the same room that I was?"

"Well, if you have to throw up, let me know and I'll pull over. I don't want you to throw up in my car."

"Oh wow. Thanks for the gesture."

"Anytime."

The church was small and a bit outdated. It could have used a major renovation. Trees were planted in certain places to cover up parts of the wall that had been slowly decaying.

Sarah got out of the car and stared at the church. "It had to be a church."

"What's wrong with a church."

"She's not a believer, Sam."

Sarah was shocked that Dean even knew that. It's not like the subject of God ever came up in their conversations. In fact, she didn't recall ever mentioning it.

"Not even a little?" Sam's face had a weird way of giving this puppy face, making people just fall for him.

Sarah had to look away, trying not to be sucked in. "Nope." She didn't asked what their beliefs were, nor did she care. She hated the topic of religion. It had a way of keeping people apart instead of together. She had way too many arguments with people about God. Instead, she walked ahead of them to the doors of the church.

Dean pushed himself forward. "Maybe I should go first."

"Whatever." She wasn't in mood to fool around. She just wanted this job done so she can leave. _I can't let this be permanent. _

When they entered, a service was going on and the reverend was speaking. "We should reflect on what this tragedy means to us as a church..."

Not realizing the ongoing service, Sam let the door slam behind him. All of the church's members stopped and stared at them, even the reverend. He didn't seem too pleased about being interrupted during his service.

After Dean, Sarah, and Sam sat in the last pew in the church, the reverend continued. "...As a community, and as a family. The loss of a young person is particularly tragic. A life unlived is the saddest of passings. So, please, let us pray for peace, for guidance, and for the power to protect our children."

Everyone bowed their heads for the deceased, except for Dean and Sarah. Sam nudged the both of them, making them lower their heads and at least pretend to believe. It was then Sarah knew that Dean stood with her on the subject.

The service was short, but not to Sarah. It had been years since she even set foot in a church, let alone participate in a service. She wanted desperately to leave, but knew she had to stay to assure their cover. She hated it and nearly walked out at one point, but remained seated for the sake of the case.

When the service finally concluded, Sam pointed to a young woman who sat in the front row. She was wearing a green shirt and a small clip held her hair away from her face. The innocence in her eyes told them exactly who she was. Lori left the church with a friend. They needed to catch up to her and talk to her before they lost her.

Sam was the first to reach her. "Are you Lori?"

"Yeah," she answered.

"My name is Sam. This is my brother, Dean and our friend, Sarah. We just transferred here to the university."

She nodded. "I saw you inside."

"We don't want to bother you. We heard about what happened."

"We wanted to say how sorry we were," Dean told her.

"I kind of know what you're going through. I - I saw someone get hurt once. It's something you don't forget." A slight pain surged through Sam's heart as he thought about Jessica. It had felt that no time at all had passed since her death.

Lori took their sympathy into consideration. Before she had a chance to respond, her father appeared from behind her. "Dad, this is Sam, Dean, and Sarah. They're new students.

Dean reached hand out to the reverend who was still dressed in his service clothing. "It's a pleasure to meet you, sir. I must say that was an inspiring sermon."

He took Dean's hand and gave a firm handshake. "Thank you very much. It's so nice to find young people who are open to the Lord's message."

Sarah held it in. Her objections wanted so bad to rise and tell this guy exactly how things were and what she thought, but she kept them down. Instead, she smiled wider and pretended to agree with him.

Dean could see the struggle in her eyes. Sam and Sarah needed to talk to Lori without her father there anyway. He took the opportunity to talk to the reverend about whatever that would get him away. "Listen, we're new in town, actually, and we're looking for a church group." That got the reverend to follow him.

Sam and Sarah stepped forward to talk a bit more privately with the girl. "Tell me, Lori, what are the police saying?" Sam started walking and Lori and Sarah went with him.

"Well, they don't have a lot to go on. I think they blame me for that."

"What do you mean?" For some reason, Sam jumped in to talk to this girl every chance he got. Sarah noticed it, but didn't say anything. She just let Sam speak.

"My story. I was so scared, I guess I was seeing things."

"That doesn't mean it wasn't real."

Lori smiled at him and told him everything. She fell Sam's puppy face.

Sarah knew what was going on and couldn't let it go any further. "Well, it was very nice talking to you, Lori, but it seems that we have to go." Sarah grabbed onto Sam's jacket and started pulling him away.

"Yeah, it was nice meeting you." Sam waved to her and started walking with Sarah. "What the hell?" Sam whispered.

"Sam, I'm not blind nor am I deaf. You can't develop any emotional ties to this case."

"I wasn't developing emotional ties. I was trying to get information."

"That wasn't gathering information, Sam. I don't know what you were thinking nor do I care. I just want to make sure this case is done right. We don't need your emotions getting in the way." In a way, she was talking to herself. She needed to take her own advice and stop thinking about Dean. This case was the important thing right now.

Sam shook her hand off of him. "Whatever."

When they reached Dean, Sam and Sarah both put their happy faces on again. Dean was still caught up in a conversation with the reverend about church groups. Sarah smiled politely. "Dean, it's time to be going."

He smiled back. He knew her smile was fake, but he liked it anyway. The way she tilted her head to give the full effect that made it look like she was actually happy made his head spin. "Oh, okay. He was just telling me about a church group that meets here every Friday that is just for college students."

"Oh, that sounds like it would be great for us. Thank you so much," she said to the reverend.

"No problem, my dear," he responded.

Dean raised his hand as a goodbye. "We'll see you later then, Reverend."

He nodded and grinned slightly.

"Thanks again," Sarah called back to him as they started back to the car.

Once they were far enough away, Dean looked down at her. "I thought you weren't a believer."

She looked back up at him. "It's called acting, Mr. Winchester. It's part of the job."

"Well, that was pretty damn good acting. I knew the truth and even I believed you." He nudged her on the shoulder.

The touch of his hand gave her goosebumps, a chill that she only got when she was nervous. She tried so hard not blush when she said, "Why thank you very much."

Dean, Sam, and Sarah all piled into the car and headed to the library to check up on some lore. They believed there was some sort explanation for the death of the young man.

Once inside, Sam explained to Dean what Lori had told them. He tried to keep his voice low so no one would hear him. The last thing they needed was someone hearing them and calling the police. That was just something the three of them weren't in the mood to mess with.

"Do you believe her?" Dean asked Sam.

"I do."

"I think she's hot, too." Sarah giggled. At least Dean saw Sam's attraction to her, too.

"No, man, there's something in her eyes."

He then turned to Sarah. "What about you?"

She sighed. She didn't want to believe her, but something in her stomach told her that Lori wasn't lying. "Yeah, I do."

"And listen to this," Sam added. "She heard scratching on the roof found the bloody body suspended upside down over the car."

"Bloody body suspended? That sounds like -"

"Yeah, I know. The hookman legend."

"That can't be it." Sarah crossed her arms in disbelief.

Dean shared in her disbelief. "That's one of the most famous urban legends. You don't think that we're dealing with _The_ hookman."

"Every urban legend has a source, a place where it all began." Sam leaned against the bookshelf.

"What about the phantom scratches and the tire punctures and the invisible killer?"

"Yeah, that doesn't match the legend at all."

Sam didn't have any other idea, so he ignored Dean and Sarah's doubts. "Maybe the hookman isn't a man at all. What if it's some kind of spirit?"

Sarah thought about it. Sam could have been on to something. "Go get the records. It's the only lead we have right now. Might as well look into it."

Sam nodded and went to talk to the librarian. Sarah and Dean found an empty table in the back. Sarah skipped the seat next to Dean and saved it for Sam. _Sitting with Dean could lead to something bad. I don't want bad._

Within minutes, Sam joined them and a woman brought over a series boxes with everything they needed inside. "Here you go. Arrest records going back to 1851."

The dust had blown up into Dean's throat and he released a small cough. "Thanks." His voice squeaked from trying to hold his breath.

Sam started to brush off the dust and some flew in Sarah's direction. She waved her hand in front of her face. "Hey. Don't blow that crap towards me."

"Sorry."

Dean flipped the first box open. "This is how you spent four good years of your life, huh?" That comment informed Sarah that Dean never went to college, just like her. They both must have been dedicated to the job even after they turned 18.

"Welcome to higher education."

The three of them spent hours after hours digging through the files. The piles of police records never seemed to decrease. When they finished a box, two more seemed to appear.

After the third or fourth hour, Sarah couldn't do it anymore. "I don't think it's the hookman, guys. We spent hours looking through this and we've found nothing."

Dean threw a file he had been working on. He was with Sarah. If this really was the hookman, they would have found it by now.

Right then, Sam spoke up. "Hey, check this out. 1862 - a preacher named Jacob Karns was arrested for murder." Sarah and Dean stood up to see what Sam was looking at. It sounded like someone finally had something. "Looks like he was so angry over the red-light district in town that one night he killed 13 prostitutes. Right here, 'some of the deceased were found in their beds, sheets soaked with blood, others suspended upside down from the limbs of trees as a warning against sins of the flesh.'"

Dean pulled out a sheet that was behind what Sam was reading. "Get this - the murder weapon? Looks like the preacher lost his hand in an accident, had it replaced with a silver hook."

Sarah examined the hook. A cross was engraved on the side on the holster. She shook her head. _How can someone do such a thing? Especially someone who devoted his whole life to God and doing good._

Sam pointed to another spot on the paper. "Look where all this happened."

"9 mile road," Dean said aloud.

"Same place where the frat boy was killed."

"Well, I'll be damned. Looks like you were right, Sam," Sarah said as she skimmed the pages again.

"Nice job, Dr. Venkman. Let's check it out."

Sam closed the file and started to head out with his brother.

"Guys." They stopped and looked back at Sarah. "We have to clean this up. We can't just leave police files everywhere."

"But we have a case to do." Dean knew she was right, but there were so many. He didn't want to spend his time cleaning up his mess.

Sam sighed. "No, she's right. Come on, Dean."

"You know, if we all work together, we can get it done quickly," Sarah joked in a motherly voice.

"Bite me, Sarah."

* * *

**A/N: Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Another one will be up soon. This chapter was named after the song Unbelievers by Vampire Weekend.**


	7. Chapter 6: Paranoid

Chapter 6

Paranoid

(Season 1, episode 7 Hook Man)

"Where did you get that big ass light from," Sarah asked.

Sam held a large spotlight outside his window and searched the brush on 9 Mile Road. "I don't know, actually."

"It was just kinda in my trunk. I have no idea where it came from." Dean put the car in park and turned off the engine.

Sam powered down the light and stepped out of the car. Sarah and Dean both followed. Dean unlocked the trunk and revealed the secret compartment inside.

_Wow. That's amazing._ Sarah stared at the piles of guns, knives, and other various weapons that were stored away. _These boys have everything. _She adjusted her knitted hat and shoved her hands in her jean pockets.

Dean handed a gun to Sam. "Here you go."

Sam took it, but was confused. "If it is a spirit, buckshot won't do much good."

Dean popped his head up from the trunk. "Yeah. Rock salt." He handed the shells to his brother.

"Hm. Salt being a spirit deterrent."

"Yeah." Dean then handed Sarah her own gun and salt ammo. "And for you."

Sarah lifted the shells to the moonlight. "That's genius," she complimented.

"Thanks." He grabbed a bag and filled it with ghost fighting utensils for himself and then slammed the trunk closed. "It won't kill 'em, but it'll slow 'em down."

Sam was just as amazed. "That's pretty good. You and Dad think of this?"

Dean started to lead them away from the car with the bag of weapons on his back. "I told you, you don't have to be a college graduate to be a genius."

Sarah smiled and lightly hit Dean on the shoulder. "Damn right."

Suddenly, sticks started snapping ahead. All three hunters stopped in their tracks. Sam aimed his gun around, ready for anything. None of them would admit it, but they were startled. they hadn't expected the spirit to come out so soon.

Dean didn't move his eyes. "Over there, over there," he whispered.

Sarah aimed her gun with Sam. Footsteps were approaching, becoming louder and louder as were their heartbeats.

"Put the guns down now! Now!" A cop had his gun up and was yelling at the group. "Hands behind your head!"

Sam and Sarah dropped their weapons. Dean dropped his bag as well.

"Get down on your knees! Come on, do it! On your knees. Get down on your bellies. Come on, do it." They all complied.

"They had the guns," Dean complained as his face went to the ground.

The trio was taken into custody and Sam and Sarah spent the night in jail. Dean was able to get out before them due to not carrying a weapon.

Dean was able to bail them both out the next day. "Saved your asses," he bragged on the way out of the police station. "Talked the sheriff down to a fine. I'm Matlock."

"But how?" Sam questioned.

"Told him you two were dumbass pledges and that we were hazing you."

"Wait," Sarah stopped him. "How would I be a pledge to frat?"

He smiled, making fun of her. "You're not gonna like it."

Sarah's satanic voice came out. "What did you tell him?"

Dean's smile grew larger. "I told him you were getting a sex change and you were going to become a man. That's why you were pledging."

Her mouth dropped. "What the hell?"

"What? You were looking kinda mannish last night."

She scrunched her face at him. "You're a dick."

He started laughing hysterically. "What? He fell for it. Don't gotta get so mad."

"You called me a man. Therefore, you are a dick."

"Hey. Don't complain. It got you off of serving time in the big house."

"That's why I'm not beating you to death right now."

Sam still had concerns. "What about the shotgun?"

"I said that you were hunting ghosts and that spirits are repelled by rock salt. You know, typical hell week prank."

"You told the truth?" Sarah couldn't believe how Dean pulled this off. _Either he planned this very well or the police here are dumber than we thought._

"And he believed you?"

"Well, you two look like dumbass pledges." Dean half grinned at them.

Sarah was ready to melt. She loved when he did that. She couldn't let him see that, though. She insulted him again to keep up the facade of not liking him. "Dick."

Once they reached the car, a herd of police men were running to their vehicles. They took off like bats out of hell and set their sirens to screech to warn people to get out of the way.

Sarah limply pointed to the cars as they pulled away. "Could that be something?"

"I think it could be," Dean answered.

Sam nodded and the three piled into the Impala. Dean started the engine and followed the caravan. They ended up stopping at one of the sororities on campus.

Lori was sitting in the back of an ambulance. This was her sorority. She looked truly horrified. Something was definitely going on in this town. But instead of stopping to find out what it was, Dean drove past the house. They had been in enough trouble with the authorities for one day.

Dean parked on the next street. The doors creaked loudly as Dean, Sam, and Sarah exited the car. From that spot, they were able to access the backyard of the sorority and were able to avoid the cops.

They walked along the home, looking for an entry point. "Why would the hookman have come here?" Sam whispered. "This is a long way from 9 Mile road."

"Maybe he's not haunting the scene of his crime," Dean suggested. "Maybe it's about something else."

"Yeah, but?" Sarah couldn't figure it out and it was frustrating her. Normally, she could connect the dots with less clues than what they currently had. She had no idea why this one was so hard to crack.

Two girls came out of the back door of the house. Dean reached around and pushed Sam and Sarah against the wall. He didn't want Sarah to think he liked her. He took this opportunity to prove he didn't like her to both Sarah and himself. "Dude, sorority girls. Think we'll see a naked pillow fight?"

Sarah scoffed. "Pig." Inside, her heart broke. _He doesn't like me. Why do I always put myself in these positions? Why do I even care?_

Sam wasn't listening to his brother. Instead, he found an opening above the door and started climbing. Dean turned around and helped him up. Sarah was next. He lifted her foot and Sam grabbed her hand. Dean couldn't help it. He glanced up and saw the outline of her butt. "Nice ass," he said aloud mistakenly.

Sarah shook her head and pulled herself up with Sam's help. Dean climbed up last. Sarah waited for him at the top. She poked him in the chest. "You talk about my ass again, I'll make sure my foot goes up yours."

Dean blushed. "I was just kidding. Sorry." He didn't even know he commented on her butt aloud. He thought he only said that in his head.

Sam peaked his head around the corner. "Guys, come on." He found an open upper-story window. He climbed through, then Sarah, then Dean.

Dean slipped and fell on top of Sarah during the entry.

"Ow."

"Oh, sorry," he apologized.

"Try and be quiet, will you?" Sam said sternly.

"Me be quiet. Tell her to be quiet."

Sam gave Sarah a hand up. "Me? You're the one who fell on me." Her feelings about Dean were mixed like always, but she was starting to hate him more than she liked him.

Dean turned and closed the window behind him. It turned out to be an entrance in to one of the closets to a girl's bedroom. Lucky for them, it was the one the crime scene was in.

Sam opened the door only enough to see if there were any officers inside. There was one, so they waited for him to leave before emerging.

This one was a bloody mess. The bed was taped off with black and yellow crime scene tape. It had been soaked in blood and some even started to drip onto the floor beneath it. That wasn't the only thing either. The words 'Aren't you glad you didn't turn on the light' were scratched with more blood on the wall next to the bed. _No wonder Lori looked scarred for life_, Sarah thought.

"That's right out of the legend." Sam was talking about the message on the wall.

"Yeah, that's classic hookman, all right. It's definitely a spirit." Dean tapped his nose.

"Yeah," Sam agreed. "I've never smelled ozone this strong before."

"That poor girl," Sarah sighed. She could tell the dead girl had to have been tortured with all this blood. She shuttered at the thought.

Dean went to check the window to make sure no one else was coming up to join them. This place was crawling with people of the law.

"Hey, come here," Sam instructed his brother. He pointed to the symbol below the message. "Does that look familiar to you?"

Sarah leaned closer to get a better look. "That looks like the symbol on that guy's hook."

"That's what I was thinking, too."

The trio left the house and started to compare the symbol to the notes they had on Jacob Karns and his murders. Sam and Dean sat on the hood of the Impala while Sarah stood in front of them. She didn't feel like she was welcome to sit on Dean's car quite yet.

Sam was convinced. "It's the same symbol. Seems like it is the spirit of Jacob Karns."

Dean nodded. "All right. Let's find the dude's grave, salt and burn the bones, and put him down."

"Sounds like a plan." Sarah was ecstatic to have this case figured out. She just wanted to runaway again.

Sam read from the sheets. "'After execution, Jacob Karns was laid to rest in Old North Cemetery in an unmarked grave.'"

Dean slid off his car. "Super."

Sarah's shoulders dropped. "Why can't they ever be easy?"

Sam pushed himself off the car and opened his door. "Okay, so, we know it's Jacob Karns, but we still don't know where he'll manifest next. Or why."

Dean pulled a parking ticket off his windshield.

Sarah looked behind her and pointed to the fire hydrant Dean had parked in front of.

Dean shrugged. "I'll take a wild guess about why. I think your little friend Lori has something to do with this."

"Yeah, maybe."

They all piled into the car once again and headed back to their fake frat home.

Sarah leaned over the seat. "You know, you should pay that."

"No, not gonna happen."

"You parked in front of a fire hydrant. You broke the law. You should pay the price."

Sam laughed at the way Sarah was scorning his brother. He just found something amusing about Dean getting put in his place.

"How many times have you broken the law this week alone?"

"That's true, but I did it for the sake of the case. You got that ticket because you don't know how to park."

"Hey, don't criticize my driving."

"I can criticize your driving all I want, you almost killed me last time I was in the car alone with you."

Dean couldn't think of anything clever to sat back to her. "There's no reason for being smart about it."

"There's never a reason for being smart about it, I just like doing it. It seems to get on your nerves." She leaned back in her seat and stared at Dean's eyes in the rear view mirror.

"Yea, it does." That wasn't a lie. He really hated the way she would get smart about things. That was one of her worst qualities in his opinion. _She purposely just wants to piss me off. I already have my brother for that. I don't need her to do it, either._

Dean parked his car outside the frat house and they all went inside. They were informed of a party the frat boys were throwing and they needed to be there.

Sam and Sarah stayed off to the side as the party raged on. Neither of them were too fond of the crowds or loud music. They focused on the case while the music sounded. The two were even able to figure out some interesting things. Dean, on the other hand, seemed to be having the time of his life. He went up to his brother. "Man, you've been holding out on me. This college thing is awesome!"

"This wasn't really my experience," Sam admitted.

"Let me guess - library, studying, straight As."

Sam nodded. That was what he preferred. Partying wasn't his number one priority when it came to college. He was there to learn.

"What a geek."

"Don't worry, Sam. I don't blame you. This is just, just awful." Sarah crossed her arms and kept close to herself and Sam. She was truly uncomfortable with amount of people that surrounded her. She would do anything to get out of that house.

"No," Dean disagreed. "This is wonderful." He tapped Sam in the chest. "Did you do your homework?"

Sam pulled out his paper. "Yeah, it was bugging me, right. So, how is the hookman tied with Lori? I think we came up with something."

Dean didn't want everyone at the party to see what they were doing. He led Sam and Sarah off to the side so they can talk more privately. Dean read the papers that Sam had handed him out loud. "'1932 - Clergyman arrested for murder. 1967 - Seminarian held in hippie rampage."

"There's a pattern here," Sam pointed out. "In both cases, the suspect was a man of religion who openly preached against immorality and then found himself wanted for killings he claimed were the work of an invisible force, killings carried out - get this - with a sharp instrument."

"What's the connect to Lori?"

"A man of religion who openly preaches against immorality."

Dean was still confused.

_I don't have time for this._ "Her father," Sarah spat out.

"Oh."

"Except this time instead of saving the whole town, he's trying to save his only daughter," Sam added.

Dean looked down. "Reverend Sorenson. Do you think he's summoning the spirit?"

"Maybe. Or you know how a poltergeist can haunt a person instead of a place?"

"The spirit latches onto the Reverend's repressed emotions, feeds off them. Yeah, okay." Dean liked it. It was the best theory they had so far.

"Without the Reverend ever even knowing it."

"Either way, you should keep an eye on Lori tonight."

Sam nodded. "What about you?"

Dean glanced at a young blonde woman inside the house. He wanted so desperately to ask that girl out, but for some reason, he felt like he would be betraying Sarah. He shook his head. "I'm gonna go see if I can find that unmarked grave." He started walking away before anyone could try and stop him.

Sarah ran to catch up with him, leaving Sam behind. She knew exactly what Dean secretly wanted. She didn't like it, but she had no reason to. They weren't together. He should sleep with whoever he wanted to. "Hey, Dean. I can find the grave. You can stay and flirt with whoever would be dumb enough to sleep with you."

"Wow, um, thanks for the offer," he chuckled slightly. "No, the case is more important. You gonna come with me?"

At first, she didn't want to. Going meant being alone with Dean. _Who knows what could happen? I'll probably do something really stupid._ But she had to go. Her other option was staying at the party and that was even less appealing. "Yeah, sure."

Sarah sat in the front seat and Dean drove. They didn't talk much. An awkward wall was put between them.

Dean swallowed hard. "So, you, uh, you didn't seem too comfortable at that party."

Sarah shifted in her seat. "I don't like crowds, especially ones filled with a bunch of drunk college kids."

"What is your problem with college kids?" Dean wondered.

"I don't have a problem with them."

"Yes, you do. Ever since we came here you've been complaining about the students."

Sarah stared out the window. "I don't know. Something about them just bothers me. Everything they do seems to annoy me. It's like they are presented with this gigantic opportunity and they blow it off by going to parties and getting into trouble. They don't know how lucky they are. Me and you, we didn't get that option. This is our life. Something we're stuck with. They can do whatever they want with their lives. They should realize that."

Dean was surprised. Sarah wasn't a personal, trusting kind of person. This was a huge step in their friendship. "You didn't exactly get a choice either?"

"No, not really." That wasn't one hundred percent true, but Sarah wasn't going to tell him that. That was enough personal information for now. "I started training to be a hunter when I was a kid. It was kinda a family thing."

"Me and Sam, too. Sam was able to get out, but I had to drag him back in. I guess once you're in, you're in."

Sarah finally looked at Dean. "Yeah." Sadness struck her like a knife. Her parents got out and they wanted her out, too, but that wasn't going to happen. Dean was right. Once you're in, it's a life sentence.

They drove the rest of the way in silence. Dean had so many questions for this mystery girl, but decided against asking them. He could see that she was lost in thought about something and wasn't exactly in the mood for talking. Maybe one day she'll tell him everything, but that day wasn't today.

Eventually, they found the cemetery. They searched the tombstones without speaking. It took them awhile, but they found a grave with the symbol that was carved into the wall in the sorority bedroom. That had to be it.

Sarah and Dean started digging the grave. The only sound was the shovels hitting the ground. It started to get awkward again and Sarah couldn't take it anymore. "So." _Don't say something stupid. Don't say something stupid._ "Have you ever been in a serious relationship?" _That was something stupid._

"What?" Dean stopped digging, surprised she would even ask such a question.

"You don't have to answer if you don't want to." She struck the ground once again. "Just trying to make conversation." She refused to look at him, too embarrassed to keep eye contact.

"No, uh, it's fine." The question caught him off guard. "No, I've never been in one."

"Neither have I," she replied casually. "I always thought hunters can't fall in love, like it was against their religion or something. Relationships like that just can't happen. But then I look at my parents. They're weird, I guess. They met on a case and got married two years later. Strange how things work out."

"Yeah, strange." Dean leaned against his shovel. "Why do you ask?"

"Like I said, just making conversation."

Dean wanted to stop the conversation right there, but couldn't. He let another question slip out. "Do you want a relationship?"

Sarah hesitated, but continued digging. "No. They're too dangerous in this world."

"But what about your parents?"

"They got lucky. I never was full of luck. I'm quite the opposite, actually."

"I see." Dean then continued to dig with her. "So, who was it?"

"Who was what?"

"Who was it that died that made you despise relationships so much?"

This conversation had taken an unexpected turn. "Still not gonna tell you."

"Why not? We've now worked two cases together. I'm guessing it's the same person you mentioned last time. You can tell me."

She sighed deeply from her chest. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Come on. It's okay-"

"I said I don't want to talk about it," Sarah snapped. Dean had pushed her, something he told her last case he said he wasn't going to do. She dropped her shovel. "I - I need a break." She hopped out of the hole they had dug and walked about thirty to forty feet away from him. Sarah just desperately needed to get away from Dean. This was why she didn't want relationships. They get personal too quick and she always ended up getting hurt.

She wiped a tear from her cheek at the thought of her lost loved one. She looked up to the sky and asked that person to help her stay strong and to help her get through this case. That's when she decided that this was the last case she was going to work with Sam and Dean. Just a few days together and her heart gets broken. She just couldn't put up with that for as long as they want her to.

Dean knew he messed up, but he didn't know how to fix it. He was never good at the touchy feely kind of stuff. He didn't follow her. He just kept digging, figuring that it would be better to finish the digging on his own. She needed space and Dean had no problem giving it to her. He was like that too. When he was upset, he would leave people behind and be alone. He did call her over when he hit something.

Sarah took a deep breath and walked back over to him. _Pull yourself together. It's almost over._ "Did you hit it?"

"Yeah." Dean used all his strength and smashed through the wood of the casket. "Hello, preacher."

Sarah offered a hand to Dean. He was in a pretty deep hole and she thought it was only right to at least help him out. She tried to ignore the rough texture of his hand. His touch was pleasant.

"Thanks." Dean went to his bag and pulled out his can of salt, box of matches, and can of fuel. He wanted to make sure this guy burned. He dumped all of the salt, making sure he covered the bones completely. Then he squirted the lighter fluid. He finally lit a match. "Goodbye, preacher." Dean dropped the match.

The bones lit quickly, sending flames straight up. Both Sarah and Dean watched the fire burn the remains of Jacob Karns.

"Sarah, I'm-" Dean started.

She lifted her hand, stopping him. "Don't. Just let it go."

"But-"

"Please," she begged.

"Okay."

Sarah just wanted to get off the subject, forget the words that either of them said. She waited a few minutes to let the bones burn. "Should we call Sam? Tell him we found it?"

Dean swallowed hard. He felt that he should apologize, but she wouldn't let him. His mishap was going to weigh heavy on his mind. "Yeah, I'll call him." Dean grabbed his phone, but it started ringing. He answered and put it on speaker. "Hello?"

"Dean. The hookman came after the Reverend." Sam was panting heavily.

"What? We burned the bones."

"Listen, I can't talk. I have to go to the hospital with Lori. Meet me there." Sam didn't wait for a response from either Dean or Sarah. He hung up quickly.

"Sam? Hello?"

"Dean, we have to get to that hospital."

* * *

**A/N: Hopefully you all liked this chapter. The song is Paranoid by the Jonas Brothers. (Don't judge me haha)**


	8. Chapter 7: Don't Speak

Chapter 7

Don't Speak

(Season 1, episode 7 - _Hook Man_)

Sarah and Dean rushed to the hospital. Two cops were blocking them from getting to Sam.

"It's all right. I'm with him. That's my brother. Hey, brother," Dean called to Sam.

There was another cop interrogating Sam. He waved Dean in. "Let him through."

Sarah tried to follow, but the cops stopped her again. "Hey, I'm with them."

"Sorry. Can't let you through." The one on the left was snotty. He was the kind to take his small jobs way too seriously.

"You can't block me from going through there."

"Yes, we can." He grabbed her arm and starting pulling Sarah in the opposite direction of Sam and Dean. "I think it's time for you to go."

"Hey, get your hands off me, buddy." She tried to push him off, but his grip was too tight. For some reason, this guy really wanted her out.

Dean turned and saw Sarah. She was the damsel in distress and he was compelled to save her. "Hey, get your hands off her. She's with me. Let her go."

The cop that was talking to Sam saw the conflict that was about to break out and decided it would just be easier to just let her through, too. "Let her through."

He kept his hand on Sarah's arm. "But, sir-"

"Just do it," the cop demanded.

Reluctantly, Sarah was released and pushed over to Dean. She pointed her finger at him. "I should have you arrested for assault."

Dean didn't want her to push their luck. "She's kidding," he told them jokingly. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and started pulling her away. "Come on. You caused enough trouble."

"I had it under control, you know," she whispered to him.

"Sure looked like it." Dean didn't give her time to shoot back at him.

The cop let Sam go, too and he walked over to meet Sarah and Dean about halfway. "You okay?" Dean asked his brother.

"Yeah." Sam was clearly shook up by something. The events of last night played over and over in his mind as he tried to connect the dots.

"What the hell happened?"

"Hookman," Sam answered.

The three started walking away from any people in sight, not wanting them to hear their conversation. Talking about ghosts can make a person look crazy. A group of people talking about ghosts is even worse. It had a tendency to escalate the situation.

"You saw him?" Dean asked in shock.

"Damn right. Why didn't you torch the bones?" Sam accused.

"What are you talking about? We did. Are you sure it's the spirit of Jacob Karns?" Dean didn't like being accused of not doing a job right. Those were definitely Jacob Karns' bones.

"Sure as hell looked like him. And that's not all. I don't think the spirit is latching onto the Reverend."

"Well, of course not." _Thank you captain obvious._ It had been a long night. Sarah was feeling more irritable than usual. The small things were starting to get to her now, too.

"Yeah, the guy wouldn't send the hookman after himself." Dean was thinking exactly what Sarah was and that scared him.

Sam thought it was time to reveal his new theory. "I think it's latching onto Lori. Last night she found out that her father is having an affair with a married woman."

"So what?"

Sarah leaned away from Dean and stared at him, confused. '_So what?' She's married. He's a reverend. That stuff isn't supposed to happen._ Sarah didn't say this out loud of course for the sake of not starting another fight, but her in her mind, she was thinking about how dumb Dean was being right now.

"So, she's upset about it. She's upset about the immorality of it," Sam explained. "She was raised to believe that if you do something wrong, you get punished."

Dean nodded, taking it in. "Okay, so she's conflicted, and the spirit of Preacher Karns is latching onto her emotions and doing the punishing for her."

Sam and Sarah agreed.

Sam backed up the theory with the events of the past few nights "Rich comes on too strong. Taylor tries to make her into a party girl. Dad has an affair."

"Remind me not to piss this girl off."

Sarah dropped her shoulders. "That's not funny."

Dean ignored her. "But we burned those bones. We buried them in salt. Why didn't that stop him?"

"You guys must have missed something."

Dean shook his head. "No, we burned everything in that coffin."

"We used enough lighter fluid and salt to make sure that sucker burned." Sarah had the same pet peeve as Dean. She hated when she was doubted about a job she was supposed to do. "There was nothing left."

"Did you get the hook?"

"Excuse me?" Sarah's eyes went wide.

"The hook?" Dean repeated.

"It was the murder weapon, and in a way it was part of him."

"So, like the bones, the hook is a source of his power." Sam was obviously the smarter one of the two, but Dean wasn't far behind. He figured that out pretty quickly.

"So, if we find the hook..."

Simultaneously, Sam, Dean, and Sarah finished the sentence. "We stop the hookman."

"Okay, that was weird. Let's never do that again." Sarah felt like they all had some kind of connection right then and that scared her. It had been a long time since she connected with anyone. These boys were really starting to get to her. As much as she wanted to say she wanted nothing to do with the Winchester, she couldn't. They weren't all that bad. That was the problem.

Dean was a bit creeped out as well. "Agreed."

"Back to the library, then?"

Dean sighed. Sam was right. They needed to get back to the library and figure out where the hook went off to, but that didn't mean he had to like it. In fact, this was Dean's least favorite part of the job. It was always so boring. He would rather be out killing things.

Sam noticed Sarah's sudden silence. Even though they had only known her a few days, he knew this was unusual. He hit his brother on the thigh and mouthed, 'What did you do?'

Dean made a face at Sam. He wanted to tell Sam about what happened last night, but now wasn't the time or the place. He didn't want Sarah even more mad or more depressed. That would make him feel more guilty.

They piled back into the car and set off to the library. Dean had begun to worry about Sarah. She had been really quiet since last night. He hoped that his questioning wasn't the cause of this. "Hey, Sarah. You all right?"

Sarah was zoned out, staring out the window. She watched as the people walked around the campus grounds. She appreciated how normal everything looked, despite what was happening. _They are so lucky they don't know about the things that go bump in the night._

"Sarah?" Dean tried again.

She snapped out of it. "What?"

"Are you all right?"

She shoved her feelings deep inside and put on a happy face. She could't let them see her being so weak. "Yeah, why?" Sarah asked with a fake smile.

Dean knew she was just acting. "You've been pretty quiet."

"Well, I'm pretty tired. I haven't been getting a lot of sleep lately," she lied.

Afraid to upset her again, Dean decided to drop it. "Okay. As long as you're okay. I, uh, I just don't want to risk you not being at your best." _Damn. I didn't mean to say that_.

"I'm fine. Don't worry about it," she added, trying to push him to stop talking.

"Okay." From then to the library, they all sat in silence. The roar of the Impala was the only noise to come from the car. It was the quietest ride they had yet.

Once they got to the library, it was right to work. They had no time to sulk over whatever it was that was on their mind. They needed to find the hook before another person died. They sat in front of piles of books, trying to find anything that would help them locate the hook of Jacob Karns.

Dean was the first to find something. "Here's something, I think. Logbook, Iowa State Penitentiary. 'Karns, Jacob - personal affects, disposition thereof.'"

Sam dropped his pen and looked over at the paper Dean was reading from. "Does it mention the hook?"

"'Upon execution,'" Dean continued, "'all earthly items shall be remanded to the prisoner's house of worship, St. Barnabas Church.'"

Sarah finally spoke up. "Isn't that where Lori's father preaches?"

"Yeah." Dean nodded and put a pen in his mouth. He was pleased to hear her voice, but wouldn't show it.

"Where Lori lives?" Sam sounded shocked to hear this news.

"Maybe that's why the hookman's been haunting reverends and reverends' daughters for the past 200 years."

Sam saw something wrong with the idea. "Yeah, but if the hook were at the church or Lori's house, don't you think someone might've seen it? I mean, a blood-stained, silver-handled hook?"

Dean removed the pen from his mouth and capped it. "Check the church records." Dean stood up and went to recover the church's records. He came back with the book and flipped it open to about the time Jacob Karns was around.

Sam read from the page. "'St. Barnabas donations, 1862. Received - silver-handled hook from State Penitentiary. Reforged." He sighed heavily. "They melted it down, made it into something else."

Sarah threw her pen onto the table. "Damn," she mumbled. This case was becoming more and more of a hassle. She just wanted it over with. "Do we have any idea what or where it could be?"

"We could ask Lori," Sam suggested.

Sarah stood up from her spot and closed the books in front of her. "Lori it is."

* * *

**A/N: I'm sorry this one took a long time to get out, but I've decided to change things up. When I first started this story, I wanted to break out of my normal routine and give you guys long chapters. Now, I realize it's just not working out the way I'd like it to. I'm sure you all appreciate the long chapters, but not the wait for them. Therefore, I've decided to go back to short chapters. That way, I can get them out faster and you all won't be waiting a month. Again, I'm sorry for the wait and I'm sorry if you enjoyed the long chapters, but it's time for a change. Thank you all for understanding. A new chapter should be out shortly.**

**This chapter was named after Don't Speak by the Jonas Brothers.**


	9. Chapter 8: Eyes On Fire

Chapter 8

Eyes Of Fire

(Season 1, episode 7 - _Hook Man_)

Dean pulled up the car slowly to the church and Lori's home. The night covered the land with only a few lights shining around the church. Everyone stepped out of the car and made their way toward the building.

"All right. We can't take any chances. Anything silver goes in the fire."

"I agree," Sam said to his brother.

Sarah only nodded back.

"So, Lori's still at the hospital. We'll have to break in."

Dean didn't see any problem with it. "All right. Take your pick."

"I'll take the house."

"Okay. Sarah?"

Sarah wasn't paying attention. She only stared at the old church, thinking of the last time she was in one with her family. She gulped hard at the thought.

"Sarah?" Dean reached out and lightly tapped her shoulder.

Trying not to look startled, Sarah tightened her shoulders and turned to Dean. "Yeah?"

"House with Sam or church with me?"

_House with Sam or Church with Dean. Which was better? If I went to the house, I wouldn't have to go into that church. If I went to the church, I would be with Dean. No. I can't start thinking like that again._ "Church," she answered quickly. _Crap._

"Okay. Church it is." Dean smiled at her. _Thank you for saying Church. _Sam started walking to the house when Dean stopped him. "Hey. Stay out of her underwear drawer."

Sam stared at him in shock as Dean grabbed his bag and walked down the path to the church laughing at his own joke. Sarah looked back and forth from Dean to Sam.

Realizing what she was thinking, Sam's eyes widened. "No. No, he's just kidding."

Sarah giggled knowing he was telling the truth. _Sam is not that kind of guy, but I have to mess with him. What's the fun in just letting it go._ "Right. When we get back to the house though, remind me to hide my bag from you."

He shook his head. "No, uh, I wouldn't-" He was lost for words.

She smiled widely. "Don't worry, Sam. I was only kidding." She started to jog to catch up to Dean. When she was at least halfway to him, Sarah turned back around. "But seriously, stay out of my underwear."

Sam waved, giving up. "Will do."

Once the two were inside, Dean started a fire in the basement in a fireplace with some of the supplies he brought. "Go look around and grab any silver. Bring it down here and toss it in," Dean instructed.

Sarah nodded and wasted no more time. She ran up and down the aisles, looked under and over pews, even checked inside the books. She wanted to be as thorough as humanly possible. Not one piece of silver was going to get past her eyes. Once she was sure she had everything, Sarah ran back to Dean. The two of them threw the pieces into the red and yellow flames. Minutes later, Sam joined them with his own share of silver.

"I got everything that even looks silver."

"Better safe than sorry." Dean tossed another piece in.

Sam handed Sarah his full bag. "Thanks." She continued to toss the silver into the flames and watched each new piece dissolve.

Footsteps creaked from above, halting all three hunters. Three or four steps moved directly ahead of them.

"Move, move." Dean grabbed his gun and started to sprint up the stairs. Sam followed and so did Sarah.

Sam stopped and put his hand out to her. "Sarah, stay here and keep burning those things."

She breathed slowly. Reluctantly, she nodded. Sam ran to catch up to his brother and Sarah sauntered back to the fire. She picked up each individual piece and buried it in heat. _Did they still not trust me to go with them?_ She sighed deeply. _They have no reason to trust me. I don't blame them. It just sucks. I thought we were making progress. Or maybe I'm just blind. I'm letting my feelings get in the way._

For some reason, Sarah had pissed herself off. She couldn't take the way she was thinking. She grabbed the closest piece of silver and chucked it into the fire as hard she possibly could._ Stop it. Now. This isn't you. You don't know them nor do you need them. You can't gain anything from them and they can't gain anything from you. You can't be friends. You can't help. Burn these fast and get the hell out before this gets out of hand. You're a hunter. Hunters don't get to have friends or people who like them. Hunters don't get to keep relationships. You know that. _

Seeing that the footsteps belonged to Lori, Dean sent his brother to her. She was always more comfortable around Sam. Instead, Dean quickly jogged down the stairs to assist Sarah in finishing the melting. "How we doing?" He kneeled down next to her and saw both bags nearly empty. "Wow. You've been going at it."

Sarah ignore him. She continued with the job because that's all this was to her. At least, that's what she kept telling herself.

Dean noticed her sudden distress. He only knew this woman for a short time and he could already tell when something was bothering her. He felt so connected to her. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't understand why. She was just another hunter. _Why do I feel the need to comfort her right now? We have a job to do._ When he thought about it, Dean realized he sounded a lot like his father, putting the job first. He hung his head for second then placed his hand gently on her shoulder. He didn't want to be harsh like his father. "Are you okay?"

She desperately wanted to tell him everything, just lay it all on the table, but she knew better. No connections. Besides, she hardly knows Dean Winchester. He had no right to know what was going on in her brain. Instead, she shrugged him off. "I'm fine."

Dean removed his eyes from her sorrowful face. She didn't want his help. He dropped his hand and grabbed another piece of silver without saying another word.

Suddenly, a scream sounded from above. Dean knew it couldn't be anything good. "Sammy?" he called.

Sarah knew the look in his eyes. Dean wanted to go save his brother. That was a look Sarah knew and respected deeply. "Go. I'll finish here. Make sure Sam is okay." Sarah started to push him up the stairs, not willing to take 'no' as an answer.

"What about you?" He didn't want to leave her here all by herself. She didn't deserve to die because he was too worried about his baby brother.

"I'm a hunter, remember? I can take care of myself. Now, go."

Dean nodded quickly, knowing she was right. Sam needed him. Sarah would be fine. He ran as fast as his feet would take him to his brother.

Sarah kept feeding the silver into the fire. The crashes and screams from above forced her to move faster and faster. She was running low but the screams continued. _Why isn't that thing dying yet?_ She furiously threw more and more in until she was down the her final handful. _Die you son of a bitch._

Bang. A gunshot. Sarah jumped slightly, but just enough to let the final handful drop to the floor. _Oh, no._ She dropped to her stomach and grabbed everything that shinned and flung them with the rest of the melted silver. The ground was soon cleared, but the shots continued. _I must have missed one._ Sarah crawled on the floor, searching for that missing piece. _I have to find it._ She slithered around like a snake, praying to find it.

The door to the basement opened and Dean stomped down the steps. "Sarah," he screamed.

She popped up as soon as he tossed a small silver cross attached to a chain. Without questioning, Sarah caught and threw it as hard as she could into the fire. The two were in sync. She trusted Dean and Dean trusted her. This resulted in silence. The ghost was gone.

* * *

**A/N: Thank you all so much for your patience. I had surgery this past week so I was unable to get a chapter out. I hope this was worth the wait. The song is Eyes On Fire by Blue Foundation.**


	10. Chapter 9: Come Away With Me

Chapter 9

Come Away With Me

(Season 1 - Hook Man)

"And you saw him, too? The man with the hook?" the officer asked Dean and Sarah.

Sarah nodded, but Dean answered aloud. "Yes, I told you. We all saw him. We all fought him off, and then he ran."

"And that's all?"

"Yeah, that's all."

The cop was silent, hardly believing their story. "Listen, you, your brother and your girl-"

Dean shifted his weight, annoyed. "Oh, don't worry. We're leaving town." He put his hand on Sarah's shoulder and led her away.

Once she was positive they were far enough away, she commented, "I wish people would stop calling me your girl."

He giggled. "That was our story."

"No, the story was we were together. I don't belong to you. I don't belong to anyone. I'm my own person."

"That's pretty, uh, that's interesting."

Sarah knew what he was thinking. "It was something my father told me," she admitted. "We were watching The Sound Of Music one day and there was a line saying the woman was going to belong to her husband. He turned to me and said, 'That is bull. A husband and wife don't "belong" to each other. They're partners in life. No one owns you.' It was just something that always stuck with me."

"Hm." _I never thought of it that way._ "You're father sounds like a smart man."

She smiled thinking about her dad. "He is."

_Okay. So her father is still alive. Add that to the list of things I discovered about this girl. And musicals. Really?_ "The Sound Of Music? Seriously?"

"What? It's a great movie."

Dean nodded quickly and shoved his hands in his pockets. His voice was a higher pitch. "Yeah, it is."

Sarah caught on pretty quick. "You've never seen it, have you?"

"No, never," he admitted.

She laughed and so did he. "You're not going to impress me by saying you liked a movie you've never seen," she said sarcastically.

He tilted his head and grinned. "It was worth a shot."

She nudged his arm and he nudged back. Both of them stared at Sam while he was getting patched up by the ambulance. Lori came over to him to say goodbye.

_Ask her. Just ask her. The worst she can say is no, again_. Dean looked down at his feet. "You want a ride to the bus stop?"

Sarah turned her attention to Dean's face. She knew what he really wanted to ask, but she couldn't bring herself to tell him the truth. Her heart wanted to drive across the United States with him and his little brother, but her brain kept telling her it was a bad idea. The logical thing to do would be to leave and never look back. _But what would happen if I ran into them again? Who am I kidding? I am definitely going to run into them. We're just going to end up right back here again._ She gulped hard afraid to answer, to take the next step. "Yeah, I'll take that ride."

Inside, Dean was ecstatic and relieved she'll be with them for just a little bit longer. It wasn't much, but it was still more than he originally thought he would have had. "Great." Dean opened the back door for her. "After you," he smiled.

"Why thank you kind, sir." She slide into the back, feeling like she fit.

Dean opened his door and jumped behind the wheel. Another case in the bag and a new friend. This was a successful day. His hand hugged the steering wheel. "Sarah?"

"Yeah?"

He twisted his back to look into her eyes. "Are you sure you're all right?"

It's so nice that he cares so much. "I'm fine, Dean. Thank you. Seriously."

Trusting her words, he turned to face the front windshield again. "All right."

At that moment, Sam opened the passenger side door and sat next to his brother in the beloved vehicle. He hugged his arm that was cut by the hook man. He stared at the passenger mirror at Lori.

"We could stay," Dean suggested.

Sam only shook his head.

Knowing he wasn't going to get more out of him, Dean started the engine and pulled away from the scene, leaving Lori and the town behind. He drove for awhile, not wanting to stop. Stopping meant her getting out and leaving and not knowing when he was going to see her again.

Dean turned on the radio and sang along to any rock song that came on. Sarah nodded along to a few and even sang quietly to others, but Sam sat silent. He wasn't in the mood for a jam session.

She liked the way Dean sang. It was horrible, but that's what made it so good. He didn't care what anyone thought. He sang his heart out because he loved the song, not to impress anyone.

Sarah understood why he kept driving away. The cops wanted them out of that town and he didn't want to leave her there with them on her tail. She just didn't think he would drive her so far. They were in the next state. "Dean."

His eyes averted to his mirror. "Yeah?"

"I think we're far enough."

His heart burst. She wanted to get out. Dean shifted his eyes back to the road, not wanting her to see the hurt in them. "Yeah. Yeah, you're right. Let me just find a bus station."

She half smiled. "Okay."

It took about ten minutes to find a bus station. The lights seemed to dim Dean's hope that she would stay. He parked the car and looked down. This was it.

She got out of the car, a bit disappointed that she was leaving these boys behind. Sam and Dean met her by the trunk so she could grab her bags.

Dean handed her her things. "Where are you going to go?"

Sarah inhaled deeply. "I don't know. Wherever the first bus is going I guess."

"Thanks for your help, Sarah." Sam was still sad about leaving the last case so he faked a smile.

"Anytime." She stood there awkwardly, not knowing what to say next. She ran her fingers through her hair. "So, this is goodbye then?" It killed her inside to ask, but that's where this was headed. There was no way to avoid it.

Dean breath got caught in his throat. "I guess it is."

"Okay then," Sarah nodded. She ran her fingers through her hair again. "Goodbye, boys." She turned quickly and started to walk away, not wanting to hear them say it.

_I can't do this again. She can't go._ "Unless," Dean called to her, stopping her in her tracks. She slowly turned to see Dean's eyes pleading for her. "Unless you want to come along, for the next case at least."

Sarah's shoulders dropped. "Do you even have another case?"

Dean moved his arms away from his side. "I'll find one. You're welcome to join us. We could be partners."

He used her words and she was surprised he even remembered what she said. Sarah only stared at him. She didn't know what to say. She told them 'no' once, but could she do it again? She could see it in his eyes. Dean really wanted her to tag along. She didn't have it in her soul to crush his spirit. She puckered her lips and moved them to the lips, contemplating her options. "One more case?"

He nodded once at her. That's not what he wanted exactly, but he'll take it. "One more case."

Sarah's mouth transformed into a wide smile. "Okay then, Mr. Winchester. One more case." She lifted her bags and ran back to the car. _I don't care if this is a mistake. It is going to be so worth it._

Dean took the bags from her and tossed them into his trunk. She was staying and he couldn't have been happier.

* * *

**A/N: This chapter was named after Come Away With Me by Norah Jones. I hope you enjoyed.**


	11. Chapter 10: Crush

Chapter 10

Crush

(Season 1 - _Bugs_)

Sam sat on the car hood and read the paper, searching for a case. He didn't want any part of Dean's plan to make money in the bar. Sarah on the other hand was all for it. She agreed to be his wing woman while he hustled bikers at pool. Every once in awhile, Sarah would come in and beat Dean at pool and then he would be challenged, surprising them his wicked game skills. When the bikers would question if they were getting hustled, Dean told them "I was just letting her win." Sarah would act offended to make it more convincing. The two left before the bar folk started to get too suspicious.

Dean flashed the money at Sam, proud of it.

Sam looked up from his paper. "You know, we could get day jobs every once in a while."

"Hunting's our day job, and the pay is crap." Dean counted the money, seeing a couple hundred. _This girl is a money maker. Where has she been all my life?_

"Yeah, but hustling pool, credit card scams? It's not the most honest thing in the world, Dean."

He looked up from his money. "Well, let's see - honest... fun and easy." He raised one hand then the other, comparing the options. "It's no contest. Besides, we're good at it. It's what we were raised to do."

"That sounds like it sucks." Sarah leaned against the Impala with her hands in her pockets.

"What do you mean? Weren't you raised the same way?" Dean stared at her in confusion.

"No. My parents had jobs. They hunted at night and when they had off. They made money like everyone else."

"That sounds impossible."

"They pulled it off."

"How we were raised was jacked," Sam commented.

"Yeah, says you."

"How were you guys raised?" Sarah was curious. They never really talked much about their childhood. She wanted to know more about them. Also, she never met other hunter kids before. She didn't know how they lived. Sam and Dean were her first.

Dean wasn't comfortable talking about it, but Sam was all for sharing. "We lived on the road mostly. We scammed and hustled for money and never stayed in a school more than a month."

"We saved people," Dean added, trying to make it sound like all that was worth it. "We got a new gig or what?" he asked, changing the subject.

Sam swung his feet around and slid off the Impala. "Maybe."

Both Sarah's and Dean's heart dropped at the same time. They had spent a few days on the road together having a great time. A case meant the end of the good times. It could be the end of their partnership if they stuck with their original agreement. Neither of them wanted it to end, but neither of them would have the guts to admit it.

"Oasis Plains, Oklahoma - not far from here. Gas company employee. Dustin Burwash." Sam slammed the paper in front of Dean and Sarah. "Supposedly died from creutzfeldt-jakob."

"Huh?" Dean sounded, not understanding a single word.

"Human mad cow disease," Sam clarified.

"Mad cow? Wasn't that on 'Oprah'?"

"You watch 'Oprah'?" Sam and Sarah asked at the same time, both finding it extremely funny.

Dean stared at them knowing he was caught. He licked his lips and changed the subject. "So this guy eats a bad burger. Why is it our kind of thing?"

Sarah giggled lightly and tapped his shoulder. "Way to avoid answering."

Sam half smiled before answering his brother's question. "Mad cow disease causes massive brain degeneration. It takes months, even years for the damage to appear, but this guy, Dustin, sounds like his brain disintegrated in about an hour, maybe less."

"Okay, that's weird."

"Yeah." Sam looked back and forth from Sarah and Dean. "Now, it could be a disease, or it could be something much nastier."

"I'm putting my money on 'much nastier.'" Sarah grabbed the paper and skimmed the article.

Dean tilted his head at her. "You have money?"

"Yeah, my cut of that." She pointed to the money that was still in Dean's hands.

"I won this money fair and square."

"No, you didn't and you did so with my help. Now, give me my cut." She reached her hand out and waited for him to hand over some cash.

Reluctantly, Dean gave her a couple bills, knowing she was right. She did help him in getting the money. He shoved the rest of his money into his wallet and clapped his hands. "Oklahoma it is then."

They split up their circle and headed for their designated door. Dean took his rightful place at the drivers seat. Sam sat on the passenger side and Sarah sat in back. She wanted to ask to ride up front with Dean, but knew that wouldn't happen. That was Sam's spot. That was always his and always will be his.

Dean pulled his door open. "Man, work, work, work. No time to spend my money."

"Gee, I feel so bad for you," Sarah said to him sarcastically.

"You should because that means you can't spend your money either, sweetheart."

Sarah laughed. "I'm saving it, sweetheart," she said mocking him.

He started the engine. "For what?"

"Oh, I don't know. Important things like food, drink, stuff like that."

Sam agreed with her. "She's got a point, Dean." He should save his money and use it for those things instead of using stolen credit cards. At least someone won't be hurt in the process.

He looked back and forth from his brother to the girl in the back. "Nah. Spending it on other stuff is more fun." Dean stepped on the gas pedal and sped down the road.

It wasn't a long drive, but they did drive most of the night. Dean didn't want to stop. He was the kind to drive the whole way through. They made small talk and listened to music. None of them slept. Sam was afraid to sleep. He didn't want to have another dream about Jessica, his dead girlfriend. Dean and Sarah didn't sleep because they wanted to spend the time together as much as they could. Neither of them would ever admit it out loud of course. Their crushes for each other stayed secret.

The way she would nod her head along to some of Dean's favorite songs made his head swirl. She laughed at his music before, but it turned out that she enjoyed the melodies. Catching her in the lie made him like her a wee bit more. He knew this was something that could never happen, but he still dreamed. He wanted to do so much for her like hold her hand when she's upset or make her smile just because he could. Dean wanted to be the person she would call when she was in trouble or if she just wanted to talk. He wanted more than to just make love to her. He wanted her to wake up every morning and be pleased that he was the first person she saw every morning. He knew, however, this was impossible. He had tried to be that person for someone before and failed. That was one thing he didn't want, to fail Sarah. He couldn't help but think of the fun they would have together if they could. He also didn't believe she liked him back. Of course they were friends, but that's as far as he or she was willing to let it go despite their true feelings. _Sarah Greenely would going to be the death of me_, he swore. _But it would be a wonderful death and would be so worth it._

* * *

**A/N: The chapter was named after Crush by David Archuleta. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Don't forget, the link to the playlist for this story is in my bio. Check it out to hear the songs that all the chapters are named after.**


	12. Chapter 11: Stop Joking Around

Chapter 11

Stop Joking Around

(Season 1 - Bugs)

Dean parked the car and the trio slammed the doors. Together, they approached a man who they believed was a witness to the death of the construction worker.

"Travis Weaver?" Sam called to him.

The man looked up at the sound of his name. "Yeah, that's right."

"Are you the Travis who worked with Uncle Dusty?" Dean lied about the relationship to the victim. He figured a distant relative wouldn't seem too suspicious.

"Dustin never mentioned nephews or a niece."

"Really? Well, he sure mentioned you. He said you were the greatest." Sam and Sarah nodded along to Dean's words, trying to make it more convincing.

"Oh, he did? Huh," Travis said with a hint of shock.

"So, we wanted to ask you - what exactly happened out there?"

Travis shook his head. "I'm not sure. He fell in the sinkhole. I went to the truck to get some rope, and by the time I got back..."

Dean could tell he wanted to something. "What'd you see?"

"Nothing. Just Dustin."

"No wounds or anything?" Sam asked.

"Well, he was bleeding from his eyes and his ears, his nose, but that's it."

"So do you think it could be this whole mad cow thing?"

"I don't know. That's what the doctors are saying."

"But if it was, he would have acted strange beforehand, like dementia, loss of motor control."

"Did you ever notice anything like that?" Sarah added to the end of Sam's description.

Travis shook his head again. "No. No way. Yeah, but if it wasn't some disease, what the hell was it?"

Dean agreed. "That's a good question."

"Can you tell us where this happened?"

Travis nodded at Sam. "Yeah." He gave them detailed directions to the new development not too far from where they were talking. They thanked Travis for his help and proceeded back to the car.

Dean started the car and turned down his music. "So what's the plan? We just go over there and see if there's anything freaky going on?"

"Sounds about right to me." Sarah leaned back in her seat.

"All righty then." Dean pulled off and drove right to the new development.

Dust was flying everywhere and workers were continuing with their day. There was at least a block or two of finished homes and about two more of ones half finished. They were nice, new modern homes that could fit normal sized families. The house where the death occurred was taped off with crime scene tape. Legally, they weren't supposed to cross that line, but that didn't bother them. They were used to breaking the law, especially when there was lives at stake. There were even moments when hunters forgot laws exist. Laws went ignored.

Sam, Dean, and Sarah left the car and walked over to the tree next to the hole the victim fell down.

"Huh. What do you think?" Dean asked his brother.

"I don't know, but if that guy Travis was right, it happened pretty damn fast."

Sam and Dean ducked under the police tape. Sarah was about to do the same, but Dean lifted it so she wouldn't have to bend so low. "Why thank you kind sir."

"No problem." The three of them looked down the hole. "So what? Some sort of creature chewed on his brain."

"No, there'd be an entry wound. Sounds like this thing worked from the inside." Sarah didn't want to admit it, but she knew Sam was smarter than her. Hell, he may have been the smartest person she had ever encountered and she's met a lot of people.

Dean flashed his flashlight down the hole. "Huh. It looks like there's only room for one."

"One what?" Sarah stood up at stared down at the oldest Winchester.

"One person."

"To go down there?" Her eyes widened at the thought. Her heart started pumping and she could feel sweat forming on her forehead. She had trouble controlling her breathing.

"Yeah. We gotta find out what's down there. Why? You want to do it?"

Sarah backed away and nearly tripped over a stray branch. "No. No. No."

Dean straightened himself out and stared at the girl. He knew he triggered something. "What? What's wrong?" He reached out and grabbed her shoulder.

His touch was enough to calm her enough to answer his question. "I, um... I'm not particularly fond of small, tight spaces like that." In other words, Sarah was a raging claustrophobic. Small spaces like that caused severe panic attacks in the twenty-four-year-old female. It was her number one fear. Just thinking about possibility going down there almost brought her to tears.

Dean always thought a fear like that was illogical and dumb. He had a tendency of making fun of people with such ridiculous fears, but this was different. He decided to hold back his remarks. He could see the true fear in Sarah's eyes and the last thing he wanted was to make her feel bad about it. Dean actually liked that she was open about such a feeling. Instead of calling her out, he backed off. He was always fond of the idea of protecting this girl. _This was a way of protecting her, I guess._ "That's okay. Me or Sam will do it. You can just hang back."

Sarah's mouth dropped open. "Really?" She couldn't believe that Dean would be so understanding. She thought he was the kind that would make her 'face her fear.' Her breathing slowed. "Thank you," she said sincerely.

He nodded once and turned to Sam. "You want to flip a coin?"

Sam felt what Sarah was feeling. "Dean, we have no idea what's down there."

Dean walked a few feet over and grabbed a hose. He had no problem making fun of his brother, however. "All right, I'll go if you're scared. Scared?"

Sam hated when Dean did that. He wasn't scared, just cautious. "Flip the damn coin."

Dean chuckled as he pulled the coin from his pocket. "Call it in the air... chicken."

Sam got frustrated with his brother and snatched the coin from the air. "I'm going."

"I said I'd go."

The younger brother didn't want to argue with Dean. "I'm going." He started to wrap the hose around him before Dean could object further.

"All right." Dean would never say it out loud, but he didn't want to go down there either. He was more than happy to let his little brother do it.

"Don't drop me," Sam told Sarah and Dean.

"Don't worry, Sam. I think Sarah and I are strong enough to hold your fat ass."

Sarah hit him. "That's not very nice."

"Yeah, Dean. That's not very nice," Sam repeated and smirked.

"Oh, it's okay, Sarah. He's my little brother. I can say stuff like that." Dean grinned the goofy grin that Sarah just loved. She completely forgot what they were talking about and got lost in his smile.

"Bull." Sam slowly lowered himself down while Sarah and Dean held the hose tightly.

Sarah looked away as Sam disappeared. She tried her best to think of other things, but it was difficult.

"Have you always been claustrophobic?" Dean asked, trying to make conversation.

"Yup."

"Always this bad?"

"Yup."

_She clearly doesn't want to talk about it, Dean. Stop asking._ He breathed slowly and tried to think of something else to talk about, but it was unneeded.

"Okay. Pull me up," Sam shouted from underground.

Dean and Sarah were in perfect sync as they pulled Sam to ground level. Both of them could feel it, too. There was something that just clicked when they worked together.

"So, what did you find down there, Sammy?"

Sam untied himself and held out his closed fist. He opened it to reveal small black dots.

"Bugs? You found bugs in a hole in the ground? Wow, Sam. Great police work. I'll be in the car." Sarah walked away before Sam could explain his reasoning for the bugs.

Dean didn't wait either. _You've got to be kidding me, Sam._ "That's all you found?"

"Yeah, but..."

"Explain it in the car. It's hot out here." Dean wasn't waiting anymore. He wanted to be in the car with Sarah.

Dean drove down the road and Sam looked at the black beetles in his hands. Sarah leaned over the seat and stared at Sam's hand. _These bugs were not worth bringing back._

"So you found beetles in a hole in the ground. That's shocking, Sam."

Sarah nudged Dean in the shoulder. "Right! Sam, we'd better report this to the scientific community! This is groundbreaking!"

Dean smiled widely and laughed._ Man, I love her sarcastic jokes. She's so funny. I adore women with a sense of humor._ Dean tried his hardest not to think about it, but Sarah's face made the weirdest expression when she was being sarcastic. It got all twisted and over dramatic. It was something that surely caught his eye.

"Haha, very funny," Sam frowned. "There were no tunnels, no tracks, no evidence of any other kind of creature down there. You know, some beetles do eat meat."

"Ew." Sarah scrunched up her face in disgust.

"Now, it's usually dead meat, but-"

"Still, ew."

"How many did you find down there?" Dean interrupted.

"10."

Sarah supported her head with her hand and rested her elbow on the front seat. "That's it?"

"It would take a whole lot more than that to eat some dude's brain."

"He's right," Sarah supported. _He's so smart. I've got to give it to him._

"Well, maybe there were more." Sam knew he wasn't crazy. This had to be something.

"I don't know. It sounds like a stretch to me." Dean doubted this was an actual case. _This doesn't count. She can stay longer._

"We need more information on the area, the neighborhood, whether something like this ever happened before."

"You want this to be a case so badly, don't you, Sam?" Sarah stared at him. _You only want this to be a case so you can get rid of me, right? I'm not that stupid._

"Something just doesn't feel right. There's got to be something here."

Dean squinted at the red balloons tied to a sign in front of a house. "I know a good place to start. Kinda hungry for a little barbecue, how about you guys?"

Sarah saw the sign. There was an open house to help sell some of the houses that were being built. The sellers were hosting a barbecue for anyone interested in buying. "Seriously, Dean?"

"What, we can't talk to the locals?" Dean asked.

Sarah knew he was full of crap. "Are you doing it to get info or for the food?"

Dean pulled the car over. "Why can't it be both?"

* * *

**A/N: Hey everyone! Sorry for the delay. I've had some health issues and have been trying to catch up on my work. Now that I am fully caught up, expect these more frequently. Thank you all for reading! This chapter was named after Stop Joking Around by Hawksley Workman.**


	13. Chapter 12: Happy

Chapter 12

Happy

(Season 1, episode 8 - Bugs)

Dean pulled in front of one of the newly built homes and pulled the keys out of the ignition. The trio simultaneously exited the vehicle. Dean took a quick glance around and immediately started judging. "Growing up in a place like this would freak me out."

Sam didn't even look at his brother. "Why?"

"The manicured lawns, the 'How as your day, honey?' - I'd blow my brains out."

"There's nothing wrong with normal."

Dean disagreed. "I'd take our family over normal any day."

"I have to agree with you, Dean," Sarah stated. "Normal is too boring. At least we get some excitement on a weekly basis."

"I thought you lived the 'normal' life." Dean air quoted the word 'normal.'

"Not really. Not the manicured lawns nor the 'How as your day, honey?' That was not my family and I am glad it never was."

"Hm. Cool."

Before Sarah could ask why Dean said that was 'cool,' she looked down and saw that her boot was untied. "Oh, you guys go ahead. I gotta tie my shoe. I'll meet you in there."

"Yeah okay." Sam grinned cutely at the girl they left behind.

Dean knocked on the door and the two waited. Dean looked over his shoulder at Sarah, making sure she was all right. _What am I doing? Of course she's all right. She's just tying her shoe. Stop being creepy._ Just as he turned his head back, the door was open and they were greeted by a well dressed man.

He smiled at the boys. "Welcome."

"Is this the barbecue?" Dean asked, hoping this was the spot for the free food.

"Yeah, not the best weather, but..." He reached his hand out first to Dean, then to Sam. "I'm Larry Pike, the developer here, and you are?"

"Dean. This is Sam."

Larry shook both men's hands firmly. "Sam, Dean, good to meet you. So, you two interested in Oasis Plains?"

"Yes. sir," Dean said confidently.

Sarah ran up to the brothers just in time to hear the greeter say the greatest line. "Let me just say that we accept homeowners of any race, religion, color, or... sexual orientation."

Sarah started coughing while trying to hold in her laugh. Sam hit her in the side, trying to silence her.

Dean's face stayed serious. "We're brothers."

Sam interjected before his brother said something stupid. "Our father is getting on in years, and we're just looking a place for him."

Sarah moved between the boys and put an arm around each of them. "Yeah. Dad needs a place to spend his retirement years. We're just trying to be good kids and give back to him after all the years he spent raising us. Right boys?" Sarah smiled innocently.

Dean's eyes only moved to see her smile. "Right." Hearing that tone of voice from such a strong, beautiful woman made him uncomfortable. This was something he certainly wasn't used to.

"Great, great. Seniors are welcomed too. Come on in." Larry tried to cover his mistake but that was something that was going to live in Sarah's mind for years.

Once in, Sarah reached out to Larry. "I didn't get a chance to introduce myself. I'm Sarah, their sister."

"I'm Larry, the developer." He shook her hand.

Sarah smiled widely. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Larry. These houses are quite beautiful. You did such a wonderful job."

Dean stood behind the two and stared in awe. Her acting skills were much more developed than his. He never imagined her as so... pleasant.

"Why thank you so much, Sarah. The barbecue is this way if you'll follow me."

"You said you were the developer?" Sam asked.

"18 months ago, I was walking this valley with my survey team," Larry explained. "There was nothing here but scrub brush and squirrels, and you know what? We built such a nice place to live that I actually bought into it myself. This is our house. We're the first family in Oasis Plains." They followed Larry to the backyard where they met up with a tall, blonde, middle-aged woman. "This is my wife, Joanie."

"Hi, there. Hi nice to meet you." She shook their hands and pretended to be cheery.

"Sam, Dean, and-" Dean looked to see Sarah staring at the fences. "And Sarah," Dean added a little louder to regain her attention.

Larry looked at his wife. "Tell them how much you love the place, Honey. And lie if you have to because I need to sell some houses."

"Right," she nodded.

"If you'll excuse me." Larry left the trio to talk to his wife.

"Don't let his salesman routine scare you. This really is a great place to live."

Another woman appeared from behind Joanie. "Hi, I'm Linda Bloom, head of sales."

"And Linda was second to move in," Joanie added. "She's a very noisy neighbor, though."

Linda laughed and Joanie left. "She's kidding, of course. I take it you two are interested in becoming homeowners."

_Two?_ Dean looked behind him and saw Sarah turned around, not paying attention again. Her mind was just not in this one for some reason.

"Y-yeah," Sam stuttered.

"Well, let me just say that we accept homeowners of any race, religion, color, or... sexual orientation."

Dean couldn't help but laugh this time. "Hm. Right. Uh, I'm gonna go talk to Larry. Okay, Honey?"

Sam shot his brother a look while he left him with the realtor.

Dean grabbed Sarah's arm and started pulling her toward the house. "What's with you?"

"What are you talking about?"

"You're acting... nice."

"Yeah, Dean. Acting. In reality, I want to get out of here before the suburban mom rubs off on me and poisons me forever."

He nudged her on the arm. "That's my girl."

"Again. I'm not your girl."

"Take the compliment and let's go find Larry before another person call me and Sam gay."

"Really? Another one did that?"

"Yeah. The head of sales lady. You would have heard if you were paying attention."

"Sorry. I just remember passing places like this when I was younger and wishing that when I was older I'd have a husband and a place like this. It's amazing what time does, ya know?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I know." From just that little flashback, Dean could imagine her about five or six pointing to the houses and making up stories about her future like any normal young girl. It made him like her a little bit more. "Come on. Let's find Larry."

"Yeah okay."

They ended up finding Larry in the house and requested a tour of the home. He showed them everything top to bottom. He explained all of the luxurios features like the garage, fancy showers, three or four bedrooms, and large backyards. They could even choose the finishes in the home including the flooring. "You have three choices - carpet, hardwood, and tile."

Sarah didn't listen to a word of it. Instead, she fantasized. She imagined her and Dean living in a place like this one day with one or two rugrats. Sam would live next door with his own wife and they would have cookouts together all the time. Dean worked as a mechanic and Sarah worked from home writing stories about their adventures. _Ha! Yeah right! It would be a cold day in hell before I even consider living like this. And with Dean? That's even a longer shot. I really need to lay off the coffee and booze. I might be going crazy._ Sarah snapped out of her daydream when she heard Dean's low voice.

"Whoa, someone likes bugs."

"My son," Larry admitted. "He's into insects. He's very inquisitive."

"Hm." Dean nodded.

Larry changed the subject, not wanting to talk about his son's interesting hobby. He smiled fakely. "Well, we should get back to the party before people start wondering where we are."

"Right. We left Sam there all by himself. He's probably lost like a little puppy. We have to look out for our little brother."

"Right. Our little brother, Sammy." Dean thought Sarah was pushing this sibling thing a little too far. _Puppy Sam? Come on now._

"Okay, I'll lead the way."

"We're right behind you," Sarah giggled lightly.

Dean leaned down to her and whispered, "Lay off this happy sibling crap. Sam's my brother, not your's."

"It's working," she whispered back. "So shut your trap and we'll talk about this later. Right now, we're working."

"Matthew!" Larry's voice brought their attention back to the job at hand. They ran up and met with Sam who was standing with a boy who was about 15 or 16 years old. "I'm so sorry about my son and his... pet," Larry apologized.

"It's no bother," Sam excused.

"Excuse us." Larry grabbed his son's arm discretely and brought him back to the house.

Sam waited until they were out of earshot before talking. "Remind you of somebody?" Dean stared at the father and son scene happening on the other side of the yard not entirely sure what Sam was talking about. "Dad?"

"Dad never treated us like that," Dean claimed.

Sam giggled at Dean's innocence. "Well, Dad never treated you like that. You were perfect. He was all over my case." Dean shrugged. "You don't remember?"

"Maybe he had to raise his voice, but sometimes you were out of line." Dean loved his father unconditionally. He always made up excuses for whatever their old man did.

"Right," Sam laughed without humor. "Right, like when I said I'd rather play soccer than learn bow hunting."

Sarah took a step back. "Do you boys need a moment?"

Dean waved her off. "No, it's all right. Bow hunting's an important skill, right, Sarah?"

She raised her hands in surrender. "I don't want to get between you two."

Sam shook it off. "Whatever. How was your tour?"

"It was excellent. I'm ready to buy," Dean joked. "So you might be on to something. Looks like Dustin Burwash wasn't the first strange death around here."

_What?_ Sarah tried not to show how shocked she was to hear that. She was supposed to be paying close attention to what Larry and Dean were talking about during the tour. Instead, she was off daydreaming of something that will never happen.

"What happened?"

"About a year ago, before they broke ground, one of Larry's surveyors dropped dead while on the job. Get this - severe allergic reaction to bee stings."

"More bugs."

"More bugs."

"More bugs," Sarah repeated like the boys.

Dean patted her on the back. "Come on. We should get out of here and talk about this some more."

"Yeah. That's a good idea."

They thanked Larry for the hospitality and went on their way. Dean let Sam drive the car and Sarah sat in the back like always.

Dean flipped through his father's journal, finding nothing helpful. "You know, I've heard of killer bees, but killer beetles. What is it that could make different bugs attack?"

"Well, hauntings sometimes include bug manifestations," Sam suggested.

"I've never seen hauntings do anything like that before." Sarah leaned against the front seat and rested her head on her arms.

Dean sighed."Neither have I. And besides, I didn't see any evidence of ghost activity."

"Yeah, me neither," Sam admitted.

Suddenly, it was like a light bulb went off in Dean's head. "Maybe they're being controlled somehow, you know, by something or someone."

"You mean like 'Willard?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, bugs instead of rats."

"That's possible," Sarah agreed.

Sam considered it for a second. "There are cases of psychic connections between people and animals, elementals, telepaths."

"Yeah, that whole Timmy/Lassie thing."

Sarah turned her head to Dean. "You are obsessed with movie references, aren't you?"

"You're damn right I am." He smiled, glad she understood his references. "Larry's kid - bugs for pets."

Sam looked at his brother. "Matt?"

"Yeah."

"He did try to scare the realtor with a tarantula."

"Ha. That's pretty funny."

Dean grinned at Sarah's small laugh. "You have a strange sense of humor."

"Hey, at least I'm not a stick in the mud like those people at the barbecue." She smiled widely and Dean couldn't help but smile back.

"You're right. It is kinda funny." _Focus on the case, Dean_. "Think he's our Willard?"

Sam sighed. "I don't know. Anything's possible, I guess."

Dean looked out the window and got extremely excited. "Ohh, hey, pull over here."

Sam turned the car into the driveway of one of the empty homes and leaned out the window. He thought Dean saw something. "What are we doing here?"

Dean opened his door and left the car leaving Sarah and Sam inside. "It's too late to talk to anybody else." He lifted the garage door so his brother could park inside.

Sam couldn't believe what he was hearing. "We're gonna squat in an empty house?"

"I want to try the steam shower, come on."

Sarah slid over and opened her door. "This is the best idea you've had all week," she called to him.

He loved the compliment. _Nice job. You just impressed the pretty lady with your good idea._ He looked back and forth to make sure there was no one around. "Come on, Sammy."

Sam hated the idea but pulled the car into the garage. He did get back at Dean by taking a cheap shot at his groin.

Dean started to pull the garage door down and Sarah started running toward it. "Wait for me." She was giggling as she rolled under the door like some sort of secret agent. The door slammed down next to her, but her smile never faded. "Well that was exhilarating."

Dean reached his hand down to the woman on the ground, offering some assistance. "What is with you today?"

She grabbed his hand and he hoisted her up. "What? I can't have fun?"

"You've been acting weird today."

"I guess it's just been a happy day."

Dean smiled and wrapped his arm around around her shoulders. "I think I know why."

Without even thinking, she grabbed his hand and held it loosely. "Oh, yeah. Why?"

"I was your fake brother making you look like less of a loner."

She couldn't help but burst out laughing. "Yeah, okay. Well fake brother, shall we get some sleep in our fake house?"

"I think we shall."

* * *

**A/N: Hi, everyone. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I want to apologize for the long delay. I decided to take a bit of a break from writing and try to get everything together after my surgery. Now that I am done with school, expect more. I am completely refreshed and am ready to put my heart and sole into this story. So please review this and let me know what you think. I can't wait to get another chapter out to you guys soon. This chapter was named after Happy by Pharrell Williams.**


	14. Chapter 13: Why Do Fools Fall In Love

Chapter 13

Why Do Fools Fall In Love

(Season 1, episode 8 - Bugs)

The next morning, Sarah woke up early, well rested. The comfort of an actual home relaxed all three hunters enough to have a good night sleep. There were no pieces of furniture in the house so they had to improvise. They each took a room and laid their sleeping bags on the floor the exact way they liked them.

Sarah decided to use the room directly next to Dean's. The creeks of a new home kept her up longer than she wanted. After an hour, she started to become frustrated. She knew she needed to sleep, but it just wasn't falling upon her. She even moved her makeshift bed to the right side of the room, right against the wall. She counted sheep, shut her eyes tight, tried clearing her mind. Nothing worked. Right when she was about to give up, she heard soft signing through the wall. Confused, Sarah placed her ear gently to the wall and listened carefully.

Dean was having trouble sleeping as well. He wasn't used to sleeping in houses. Her preferred the comfort of an old motel bed. They weren't more comfortable, just more familiar. On sleepless nights like these, Dean remembered the days before the death of his mother when she would sing to him. He could still her voice bring the words to life. He even remembered the tune by heart. He leaned against the left wall and closed his eyes. "Hey, Jude, don't make it bad. Take a sad song and make it better. Remember to let her into your heart. Then you can start to make it better."

His soft, calming voice was low, but Sarah still understood every word. His voice is actually beautiful when he tries. It was different from when he would sing his rock music in the car. She rested and closed her eyes. 'Hey Jude' was one of her favorites. Her lips slowly mouthed the words along with Dean as he sang, "Hey, Jude, don't be afraid. You were made to go out and get her. The minute you let her under your skin the you begin to make it better." Those were the last words Sarah heard as she was lulled to sleep.

"And anytime you feel the pain, hey Jude, refrain. Don't carry the world upon your shoulders. For well you know that it's a fool who plays it cool by making his world a little colder." Dean sighed, not wanting to sing anymore. He knew that Sarah was in the room next to his and he was afraid he was keeping her awake. When he thought of her, he started to relax enough and began to doze off. There was something about having that girl around that calmed his mind.

Sarah sat up with the sun shining in. Without even thinking about it, Dean's sweet voice played in her head. She hugged her blanket and closed her eyes, replaying every word, every syllable. It was like her own personal heaven. A soft grin spread on her face as she rocked to the music. Inside, she promised to never mention to him that she heard his soft singing in the hopes that he does it again. _If he knew that I was listening, he would stop and I would never sleep again._

The sun rose slowly and Sarah watched as the light filled the room. It was early morning and she hadn't heard a peep. _I'm probably awake before the boys._ Suddenly, an idea hit her._ I need to get in that shower before Dean wakes up. If I wait, I'll never get a chance to try that steam shower._

She carefully shot up from her sleeping bag, not wanting to disturb Dean. Her bag was on the other side of the room so she tip toed over. She slowly unzipped it, making as little noise as possible. Her white towel was on the bottom of the bag, forcing her to throw all of her clothes out. She didn't even look at the clothes she grabbed. All she needed was her shirt, pants, and undergarments. It didn't matter if those items matched or not. If it looked ridiculous, she would change later.

With her clothes and towel in hand, Sarah carefully opened her bedroom door. _One step at a time_. It took a while to reach the other end of the hall, but Sarah eventually made it. She dropped her clothes on the newly polished tile floor and placed the towel next on the toilet. She couldn't wait to get in that shower, so she quickly removed her shirt.

Reaching for the knob to turn on the special shower, Sarah realized something. She was in so much of a rush to beat Dean to the shower, she forgot all of her toiletries. Her shampoo, conditioner, and soap still laid in her room. "Crap." She crossed her arms._ Do I want to risk going to get them? If I move really quick, he won't even notice right? He's probably still asleep, anyway._ She peaked her head out the door. No sign of either of the brothers._ I can make it. I can make it._

Sarah made a run for it to her room. Her shower utensils were in the exact place she left them, in the bag. She grabbed them, hugging them to herself. _I forgot I took off my shirt._ Of course, she still had on a bra, but it wasn't a pretty one. It was a comfortable blue sports bra and she did not want to be caught topless just wearing that yet, especially by Dean. That was something she was not ready for.

As soon as she stepped foot outside her room, the door next to her's creaked open. She stood in front of it like a deer in head lights. _Oh my, God_. _He's awake!_

Dean didn't even notice that she wasn't wearing a shirt. He rubbed his sleepy eye and caught the shower things in her hands. "Are you taking a shower now? I was gonna do that."

Sarah raised her shoulders and Dean's expression fell. Without a word from either of them, the race began. Sarah pulled in front of him and her giggles could be heard through the whole house. She was not going to let Dean Winchester get to that shower before her.

Dean reached out for her arm, barely missing. "Get back here, Greenely."

"Hell, no, Winchester. I was up first!" In one last stride Sarah reached the bathroom and slammed the door in Dean's face, locking it. "Haha. Sucker!"

"Come on, Sarah," he whined.

"No. You have to wait your turn."

"I'm older."

"Don't care." She started the shower, not wanting to hear another word. She continued her giggles. _That boy is fun to be around._

"What the hell is going on?" Dean turned to see his younger brother in a sleepy daze.

Dean huffed. "We had a race to the bathroom. She won."

Sam scrunched his face. "Huh."

"That little minx." Dean shook his head and sauntered back to his room. "She's gonna pay," he joked.

"Go easy on her. It's her first offense." Sam knew all too well about Dean's revenge plots. Dean used to pull pranks on him all the time when they were kids.

Sarah didn't take all that long in the shower, but it did feel good. _They were not lying when they said these showers were amazing._ She didn't want to leave the comfort of the warm water, but she also didn't want to keep Dean waiting too long even though she did win fair and square. She knew how bad he wanted to try it and keeping him waiting just didn't feel right.

She opened the bathroom door and a cloud of steam followed her. Dean was leaning against the doorway to his room waiting for her. He was still dressed in his pajamas.

She smiled at him menacingly as he glared back. "It's all yours. Can I just say, it was wonderful."

Dean released a small chuckle as he looked her up and down. "Nice outfit, Waldo." He grinned at her as he slipped past her and closed the bathroom door.

_Waldo?_ Sarah looked down at herself and saw the red and white stripped shirt she bought a few years before. What made it worse was the blue jeans it was paired with it. _Fantastic_. She banged on the door. "Dean! Did you change my clothes while I was in the shower?"

"That's what you get!" she heard him say as he started the water. "Next time, I wont be as nice."

Embarrassed, she shamefully went back to her room to change. _That was my punishment! Jerk must have picked the lock._ She grabbed her black jeans and navy blue button down blouse and changed, happier with the results.

Sarah and Sam hung out together in the kitchen. They didn't talk all that much, just ate their bowl of cereal in peace. They would share small stories, but nothing major. They were mostly waiting for the older Winchester. They listened to the police scanner and heard sudden news about their case. They needed to get going and Dean was holding them up

Sam couldn't take it anymore. He stomped out of the room and Sarah followed. "Where are you going?" she asked.

"To get my brother to move his ass." Sam was up the stairs within seconds, tired of always waiting on his brother. He banged loudly on the door. "Ever coming out of there?"

Sarah leaned against the wall wanting to see how this played out. Sometimes the brothers being brothers was the most entertainment Sarah got all day. With a job like their's, entertainment was needed on a daily basis to keep them from going mad.

"What?" Dean screamed from inside.

"Dean, a police call came in on the scanner."

"Hold on!"

Sam didn't have the time to 'hold on.' They had a job to do and he was determined to do it. "Someone was found dead three blocks from here. Come on."

Dean stopped the water when he heard Sams news. He opened the door to see Sam and Sarah waiting for him. He had wrapped his head in a towel to dry his hair and wrapped his waist as well. There was a full view of his torso. Sarah tried not to look, but it was too tempting. Dean was perfectly sculpted and it was impossible to ignore.

"This shower is awesome," Dean commented.

"I know right," Sarah agreed.

"Come on." Sam turned away, grabbed Sarah's hand and pulled her along, and didn't look back. "Don't encourage him," he said to her.

"I wasn't encouraging. I was agreeing."

Sam released her hand. He wasn't stupid. He knew these two were dancing circles around each other. He was just getting tired of it. Sam wanted it to stop.

She stopped. "It really is a great shower, Sam."

Dean closed the door and blushed. He had noticed the way her eyes couldn't leave him. He couldn't tell if she was admiring him or just annoyed that he was taking so long in the shower. _That girl has a great poker face. Whatever. I'll take what I can get._

Dean jogged down the stairs about ten minutes later, hair barely dried. He grabbed his keys and his jacket. Before he could say a word, Sam took off for the car. Dean leaned down to Sarah. "What crawled up his butt today?"

"I have no idea. I guess he just wants to solve this case?" She grabbed her jacket and put it on, noticing the rain falling out the window.

"Well then we better get out there before he starts making a scene." He held his hand out. "After you."

"Oh yeah. Send the girl in first to deal with the angry giant. Good strategy." She walked away from him to the car.

Even when her sarcasm was directed toward him, Dean always managed to smile at her quick little remarks. They were always the highlight of his day.

* * *

**A/N: I hope you guys liked this chapter. I liked writing this one. I hope you all can leave some reviews because I love reading them! This song was named after Why Do Fools Fall In Love by Diana Ross.**


	15. Chapter 14: The Spiderbite Song

Chapter 14

The Spiderbite Song

(Season 1, episode 8 - Bugs)

The trio piled into the Impala and hit the gas. They approached a scene with flashing red lights in the rain. People surrounded the scene.

Dean pulled the car to the side and Sam exited first, followed by the other two. Dean tossed a black umbrella to Sam and kept one for himself. He only had enough for two, so he offered to share his with Sarah. Her smile widened at his offer. Together, they walked to Larry, the builder from the barbecue from the day before.

He hung up his phone as they approached. "Hello, you're back early."

"Yeah, we wanted to take another look at the neighborhood," Dean told him.

"What's going on?" Sam asked curiously.

Two police officers wheeled a black body bag out of the house next to Larry's "You guys met Linda Bloom at the barbecue?"

"The realtor."

"Well, she, uh, passed away last night."

All of their expressions changed to surprise. "What happened?" Dean asked first.

Larry shrugged. "Still trying to find out. I identified the body for the police." He looked over and one of the officers waved him over. "I'm sorry. This isn't a good time."

Sam shook his head. "It's okay."

"We're sorry for your loss," Sarah added with sincerity.

"Thank you. Excuse me." Larry turned and walked back to the house to finish talking with the police.

Dean looked from Sarah to Sam. "You know what we have to do, right?"

"We got to get in that house," Sam answered.

"See if we got a bug problem."

"Gotta love breaking and entering a crime scene."

Dean nudged Sarah. "Come on. It's not that bad."

"I never said it was. What are we waiting for. Let's go boys. We're getting wet out here." She didn't wait. The rain didn't bother her, but she wanted to get this done as soon as possible. She walked to the back of the house and the boys quickly followed.

The brown wooden fence surrounded the yard. Dean hopped over first with ease.

Sarah jumped, but missed the top and fell back to the ground. She covered her eyes from the rain and looked up at Sam. "Wanna give me a hand, big foot?"

"Words hurt you know." Sam grabbed her sides and hoisted her up.

She grabbed the top. "I'm sure you've heard worse." She swung her legs over.

Without hesitation, Dean grabbed her sides and helped her down. It was something that just came naturally to him.

Once her feet were planted firmly on the soft grass, she tilted her head at Dean. "I didn't need help down, you know?"

He lifted his shoulders. "Thought it would be better to be safe than sorry. I didn't want you to slip and fall on your butt."

"I guess you make sense."

"Hey, guys," Sam whispered from the other side. "I think we need to go up."

The two stared up at the vines. Sam was right. A window was directly above where they currently were.

"Need a boost?" Dean asked her.

She sighed. "Yeah." Sarah hated being her size. It wasn't like she was so short that she had problems with tall things. She was only a little less than average height. Her problem was people were making things taller and taller now. Fences were becoming more of a challenge than they used to be. She was lucky, though. Dean and Sam were on the taller side and were able to help her out, she just hated asking.

Sarah climbed to the top first with the boys on her heels. She pushed the window open and climbed through. She moved out of the way so Sam and Dean could make it through.

A red outline of a body was sketched on the ground. Dean observed the room. "This looks like the place." They stepped over the outline and followed the broken glass in the bathroom. She had fallen through the glass on the shower door. Dean lifted a damp towel off of the ground. Black, eight legged creatures popped out from under the towel. "Spiders. From spider boy?"

"Matt." Sam didn't take Dean's name for the boy too well. "Maybe."

"We need to talk to this kid." Sarah stared at the spiders on the ground. This couldn't be a coincidence.

"Yeah, we do. It's too early, though. The kid's probably at school." Dean stood up from the scene.

Sarah smiled. "Let's go get some food then." Sarah slide through the window once again and climbed down. This time, she went from the vines to the fence without the Winchester's help.

The boys did the same and the three hunters stopped at a local diner to grab some lunch. Sam ordered the usual, a boring salad and a water. Dean ordered the greasiest sandwich on the menu. Sarah hated eating salads. Eating healthy was not a terrible idea to her, but she didn't like the way it tasted. She prefered something meaty covered in barbecue sauce. She ordered the same sandwich as Dean without a second thought. To her, it sounded delicious, especially the way Dean ordered it.

Dean watched her eat the heap of food in front of her. _The same sandwich as me? She really is perfect, isn't she?_

When they finished, they climbed back into the car and made their way to the boy's house. Lucky for them, the bus was just letting him off. The kid walked in the opposite direction of his house.

Dean pointed out. "Isn't his house back that way."

"Yup," Sam confirmed.

The bus drove away. "So where's he going?"

Sarah slid over to the door. "There's only one way to find out."

Without another question, the trio exited the car at the same time. They needed to follow Matt to find out what exactly was going on in this new establishment. They followed him closely.

The kid stopped by a tree and opened a small container he pulled from his backpack. His hend gently picked up a bug and placed it in the container.

Matt was shocked by the sound of his name being said by the taller Winchester. "Hey, Matt. Remember me?"

"What are you doing out here?"

"We want to talk to you," Dean tried to say innocently.

The kid could see into their lies. "You're not here to buy a house, are you? Wait, you're not serial killers?"

Everyone got a good chuckle out of that one. "No, no," Sam assured. "No, I think you're safe."

Dean stared at Matt. "So, Matt... you sure know a lot about insects."

"So?"

"Did you hear what happened to Linda, the realtor?"

He nodded. "I heard she died this morning."

"Mhm, that's right. Spider bites." Dean said the last two words in a terrifying fashion.

Sarah pulled him down a little. "Stop being so creepy."

He half grinned back at her. "But it's just so fun."

Sam ignored their apparent flirting. "Matt, you tried to scare her with a spider."

"Wait, you think I had something to do with that?"

Dean's voice was deep. "You tell us."

"That tarantula was a joke. Anyway, that wouldn't explain the bee attack or the gas-company guy."

Sarah's head twitched. "You know about those?"

"There is something going on here. I don't know what, but there's something happening with the insects. Let me show you something." Matt hooked his backpack on his back and walked away from the spot he stood.

"So, if you knew about all this bug stuff, why not tell your dad?" Sam questioned as they all trekked trough the woods. "Maybe he could clear everybody out."

"Believe me, I've tried, but Larry doesn't listen to me."

"Why not?"

"Mostly? He's too disappointed in his freak son."

"I hear ya."

That one caught Dean and Sarah both off guard. "You do?" Dean wasn't exactly sure what Sam was referencing.

Sam ignored Dean. "Matt, how old are you?"

"16."

"Well, don't sweat it because in two years something great's gonna happen."

Sarah grabbed Dean's shoulder and raised a hand at Sam, silently asking Dean what was up with Sam.

Dean only shook his head and shrugged his shoulders.

"What?" Matt asked Sam.

"College. You'll be able to get out of that house and away from your dad."

"What kind of advice is that?" Dean knew Sam didn't exactly direct his advice to Matt. "A kid should stick with his family."

Sarah kept her mouth shut. She didn't have a stance on the issue. Sure, she left her family back home, but not because they pushed her away. She left for other personal reasons that did not apply to this situation, or any normal situation for that matter.

Sam stopped and looked back at Dean. He wanted so badly to say something back, but knew this wasn't the right time or place. Instead, he turned his attention back to Matt. "How much further, Matt?"

"We're close."

Dean shot Sam one last look before continuing on.

The birds chirped from the green trees. The sun barely shown through the top. The clouds were beginning to gather above once more.

Matt finally stopped in a small clearing. "I've been keeping track of the insect population. It's part of an A.P. science class."

Dean slightly scrunched his face. "You two are like peas in a pod."

Sarah raised an eyebrow. _Wow. Sam must have really hit a nerve when he suggested for that kid to move away._

Sam was done acknowledging Dean. "What's been happening?"

"A lot."

"Like?" Sarah finally spoke, trying to stick to the case.

"I mean, from bees to earthworms, beetles - you name it. It's like they're congregating here."

"Why?

"I don't know."

Sam pointed away from them and at a fresh pile of turned dirt. "What's that?"

Matt didn't have an answer.

Dean figured he might as well look and pushed his way through Matt and Sam. Sarah didn't want him to go alone, so she went with him. Sam was mad at his brother, but still tagged along with Matt by his side.

Thousands of earthworms were gathered on the top of the pile. Dean used his foot to lightly tap the top of the worms. At the light touch, the worms tumbled to the hole below them. Instead of putting himself in more risk, Dean grabbed a stick and knelt down beside the hole. He poked and poked until he felt something hard. "There's something down there." He reached his hand down into the dirt and worms.

"Ew," Sarah commented.

"You're telling me." He reached further and further in. Dean could feel it on his finger tips. "Come on. Come on." With one final reach, Dean was able to retrieve the mystery item. He shook it slightly and lifted it high for all to see.

The trio couldn't believe what they had found. A skull that seemed to be decades old was buried under the pile of worms.

Sarah huffed loudly. "Well, I don't know about you boys, but I can tell you right now that that is a first for me."

"Me too," Matt said, covering his mouth.

* * *

**A/N: Hey guys! I want to apologize for the delay in this story. I really wanted to update but I didn't have the time. Now that I have everything straightened out, I'm going to be posting more of this and my other stories. So please review this chapter and let me know what you think. This chapter was named after The Spiderbite Song by The Flaming Lips. Don't forget to check out my YouTube playlist for this story :)**


	16. Chapter 15: You Look Good In My Shirt

Chapter 15

You Look Good In My Shirt

(Season 1, episode 8 - Bugs)

Dean blared his rock music as he drove to a local university to have the bones that they had discovered checked out by a professional. The three of them wanted to learn more and to try and figure out what they were dealing with before someone else was to meet their maker. That was the last thing any of them wanted and believed that it was their job to personally make sure that whatever supernatural thing that was occurring in this new development was stopped before completely eradicating the population.

Once he pulled up in front of the building, Sarah removed her jacket to cover up the remains. She didn't want anyone to see them and think they were some kind of homicidal maniacs. Sam came around to the back and she handed the old beat up box to him. Sarah stepped out of the old Chevy and into the drizzle of the rain. Without her jacket, goosebumps rose on her arm, so she folded her arms to try to keep warm.

Sarah didn't notice, but Dean was watching her every move. He admired how tough she tried to be in the rain. _I should offer her my jacket, but would she see it as something other than just being nice? I can't let her freeze. Screw it._ "Hey, Sarah. Do you want my jacket?"

Water dripped gently from her nose when she looked up at him. She tried her best not to look too surprised. _Is he hitting on me? No. I don't think he's interested in that way. He's probably just being nice._ "No, it's okay."

Without a second thought, Dean shrugged off his jacket, revealing his muscular figure. Sarah turned her gaze away, not wanting him to see her staring. He stuck his jacket out to her. "I insist."

She didn't want to take it, but how could she turn down such a nice gesture? But before she could grab it from him, Dean took the matters into his own hands. He wrapped the leather around her shoulders and brushed off some of the water on the top. _Man I wish I could be that jacket right now._

Sarah grabbed the two pieces in the middle and brought them closer to her. Her skin instantly started to reheat, but she couldn't think about it. All her senses were focused on the heavy scent that drifted up to her nose. The smell of whiskey, sweat, and some kind of light cologne caught her attention. _So this is what Dean Winchester smells like up close._

Sam's voice brought Sarah back to the case. "So a bunch of skeletons in an unmarked grave."

Dean tore his eyes away from her to respond to Sam. "Yeah, well maybe this is a haunting - some pissed off spirit, some unfinished business."

"Yeah, maybe."

"Hopefully," Sarah added. "I was always a fan of a good old fashioned haunting."

Dean grinned. "I knew there was a reason we asked you to tag along."

"Not because of my charm? I'm shocked," Sarah replied sarcastically.

Sam rolled his eyes and continued talking about the case. "The question is why bugs and why now?"

Dean tapped his brother on the shoulder. "That's two questions." He paused. "So with that kid back there - how could you tell him to ditch his family like that?"

Sarah slowed down. She knew that this wasn't a conversation made for her ears. Dean may have brought it up in front of her, but it still wasn't her business. She didn't know them well enough yet to dwell deep into their family issues. The only thing she knew and needed to know was that they were looking for their father. Everything besides that was on a need to know basis. She believed that she wasn't one of the people who needed to know. Besides, she never told them about her family troubles so why should she hear about theirs?

While Sam and Dean continued on with their discussion about Sam's interest in the kid, Sarah watched her surroundings. For the past six or seven years, she never trusted anywhere she hadn't been before. Even if she knew there wasn't a physical threat, she always kept her eyes open. She always expected the unexpected.

She turned around and saw the boys stopped about ten feet back. She looked down at her silver and blue watch. "Come on, guys," Sarah called to them. "We're going to be late for our appointment." She knew they were really deep in their conversation, but they all still had a job to do.

Dean was the first to follow her lead. He would follow wherever she would go and he didn't understand why. He was just drawn to her in a way he couldn't explain. He rushed to the door before she could grab it. He pulled the door handle and pointed his hand inside. "After you, my lady."

Sarah curtsied and laughed. "Why thank you, kind sir."

Once she was safely inside, Dean released the door and nearly hit Sam in the face. "You can hold your own door, Sammy."

"Yeah, thanks, Dean," Sam said, annoyed with his brother's jokes.

After climbing a few flights of stairs, the trio made their way to the head professor of the department of anthropology. He welcomed them all in, believing that they were all participants in his classes. He observed the bones for awhile until he come up with some interesting conclusions. "I'd say they're 170 years old, give or take. The time frame and the geography heavily suggest native American."

Sam, being the bookworm that he was, was the first to jump in and ask questions. "Were there any tribes or reservations on that land?"

The professor shook his head. "Not according to the historical record, but the, uh... relocation of native peoples was quite common in that time."

"Right. Well, are there any local legends, oral histories about the area?"

"Well... You know, there's a Euchee Tribe in Sapulpa. It's about 60 miles from here. Someone out there might know the truth."

"All right," Dean nodded. "Thank you very much for your time, sir."

They all shook hands and the trio were outside once again.

Sarah still clutched Dean's jacket, but he didn't mind. _She looks good in my jacket. Maybe even better than me._

Sam placed the bones in the backseat and held the door open for the girl. She slid in and the boys joined her in the front seat. She untwisted the jacket from her shoulder and hung it over the front seat. "So boys. What's the plan?"

Dean and Sam looked at each other and answered at the same time. "Sapulpa."

Sarah relaxed in her designated seat. "Sounds good to me."

"60 miles. We better get a move on." Dean started the engine and pealed out of the university.

Sarah held onto the the door. "Damn, Dean. You don't need to go so fast."

"It's 60 miles, Sweetheart. No chance I'm gonna take my sweet ass time and risk someone else dying."

She stared at him through the rear view mirror. "Or you could get us killed and people still die."

"I'm a good driver," he argued.

"A lot of people are good drivers, Dean. That don't mean crap."

"Sarah, don't tell me how to drive. You don't even have your license. You don't know what you're talking about."

"Speak for yourself, Dean."

His head jerked back. "What?"

"I have a license, Dean."

He raised his lip in disbelief. "I don't think so."

"I'll prove it." Sarah grabbed her bag from the floor of the Winchester's ride. She pulled out an old, worn and torn baby blue wallet. In the first slot on the right side stood a card with a picture of her at 16. She pulled it out and leaned over the front seat. "See? I am a licensed driver according to the state of New York."

"It's gotta be fake."

Sarah rolled her eyes, a habit she developed while staying with the boys. "Sam, does this look real to you?"

Sam grabbed the card from her hand and observed it carefully. He handed it back to her. "Yeah, it looks real to me."

"See? I can drive."

"Then why don't you? Do you not have a car?" Driving was one of Dean's favorite things to do. It brought a feeling of freedom and he didn't understand why anyone would decide to give that up.

"I have a car."

"Then why not use it?"

"Because..."

"Because? That's a good reason."

"Yeah, it is."

"Sarah, be straight with us. Why not drive? Are you afraid to?"

"No."

"Then why?"

"Why is it so important to you?"

"Because."

"Because isn't a reason," Sarah mocked.

"I want to know more about you. Why walk and hitchhike across the country to hunt when you can just drive? That doesn't make any sense."

"Because I like it that way."

"I don't believe it."

"Well, it's true."

"No, it's not."

Sam shifted uncomfortably in his place. "Dean, she obviously doesn't want to talk about it. Just drop it."

"No, because secrets don't make friends, Sammy. If we're going to work together then we should expect honesty."

"Why do I always have to be the honest one?" Sarah burst. "Last I checked, you were the one who refused to tell me what happened to your father."

"That's different."

"How, Dean? How is that different?"

"It's a personal reason."

"And so is mine!"

They both went silent, not sure what to say next. They both struck a nerve the other tried so hard to hide.

Dean rubbed the top of his hair. "We can't trust each other so we shouldn't work together. I think this is going to be our last case together."

"I agree."

"Guys, we don't have to do this." Sam hated seeing his brother fight with his friend. Sarah was really starting to grow on him. He wasn't ready to let her go back out there on her own. And he knew Dean had some sort of thing for her. He believed that Dean deserved the same level of happiness as anyone else.

Sarah stopped him from saying anything more. "I'm sorry, Sam, but your brother's right. This is just the way it has to be."

The rest of the road was silent except for the lull of the motor and the rock music playing softly through the speakers. Everyone had different things to say, but no one had the nerve to say them.

* * *

**A/N: Hey everyone! I want to again apologize for my absence from this story. I've been so busy with work and school, my writing had to be pushed back and that made me really upset. I hate doing this to you guys. I'm not going to promise that another chapter will be up within the next few days, but I do promise to try to fit this more into my schedule. I love doing this more than anything and I really want you all to know what happens to Sarah and the boys like I do. It's just going to take awhile. Thank you all for sticking with me on this. I really appreciate your support. Please review this and tell me what you thought of this chapter. I hope you thought that it was worth the wait :) Thank you all again for your patience. And don't forget to check out the playlist that I made for this story on youtube. The link is in my bio. This chapter was named after You Look Good In My Shirt by Kieth Urban.**


End file.
